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Copyright, 191 1, by 
ROBERT EGGERT. 



©CIA30394 



PREFACE 



ONE half century has elapsed since 
Fort Sumter was fired upon and 
the Civil War began. This war 
closed four years thereafter with the 
surrender of the Confederate forces to 
the Union, and with the assurance of the 
complete expulsion of slavery from the 
United States. 

The North and the South paid dearly 
for the verification of the principle that 
liberty and slavery cannot exist at the 
same time in one and the same nation; 
and that the existence of the one is the 
death of the other. 

The recollection of the magnitude of the 
price paid is still fresh in the minds of 
those steadily decreasing old veterans 
who, once a year, decorate the graves of 
their comrades. The last of those veter- 

[?] 



PREFACE 



ans must soon join the grand army of 
the dead, while the present generation, in 
their chase after the golden calf, are apt 
to forget the sacrifices their fathers made 
in order to cut out slavery from the body 
politic and, for the first time in the 
history of the world, to establish a 
republic in which complete liberty, freed 
from caste, rules supreme. 

The civilized world was amazed that 
from the purely artisan and farming 
population of the North such vast armies 
could have been created as were necessary 
to suppress the most formidable revolu- 
tion known to history. 

From the foregoing facts sprang a 
desire on the part of several old veterans 
to retain from that creative period of our 
nation a few episodes which would por- 
tray the methods that had been pursued, 
describe the actors who had aided to shift 
the scenery in that bloody drama, honor 
the dead that had fallen on the ramparts, 



[4] 



PREFACE 

and send to the present generation the 
watchword of the old guard: — 

"Slavery in a different form has since 
shown its murderous instincts; Tyranny 
has shot down among us, without the 
remotest right or excuse for the murder, 
the peace-loving, law-abiding citizen who 
had lawfully sold his labor to an employer 
against whom a self -constituted court of 
employees had pronounced the ban, now 
called the 'boycott.' Tyranny has 
further destroyed, unlawfully and vi- 
ciously, the property of the boycotted 
as punishment for having exercised his 
constitutional right of hiring labor where 
he could lawfully find it. Attention! 
Haul down that flag of modern slavery 
and its associates, and guard well the 
Goddess of Liberty whose purple has been 
cleansed with the blood of your fathers !" 

The following narrative, based on 
facts, which has been written by one who 
has personally drawn from reliable sources 

[5] 



PREFACE 



the events that are portrayed therein, 
may serve the young as a reminder of 
the time when the Union was convulsed 
in her death-struggle; of the truth that 
history will repeat itself, and of the 
principle that eternal vigilance is the 
price of liberty! 

The Author. 
August 10, 1911. 



[6] 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Preface 3 

CHAPTER PAQB 

I. The Parting 9 

II. From the East to the West 15 

III. The Flight 27 

IV. Congenial Friends .... 46 

V. The Soul of the Log House 62 

VI. The Solution of the Old- 
est Question of Man- 
kind 78 

VII. The Danger of System Ap- 
plied to Love 92 

VIII. The Club's Maiden Effort 101 

IX. The Test of the Golden 

Rule Ill 

X. The Distribution of Prizes 121 

XL Secession and Union . . . 131 

XII. Celebration of Christmas 
and the Lull Before the 
Storm 136 



[7 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XIII. The Murder Trial ... 145 

XIV. The Creation of Home 
Guards and the Echo of 
the Firing on Fort 
Sumter 161 

XV. The Demon of War Let 

Loose 174 

XVI. The Club's Embarking for 
the Nearest Field of 
Contest 187 

XVII. Scenes of Home 199 

XVIII. The Search for the Miss- 
ing 214 

XIX. The Battle of Wilson's 

Creek 234 

XX. Found at Last 246 

XXI. The Reunion ...... 259 



[8] 



The Log House Club 



Chapter I 

THE PARTING 

IN the fall of 1860, at a street corner 
in Buffalo, New York, a young 
man of about twenty years and 
a girl, three years his junior, were 
engaged in animated conversation. 
Below them, toward the west, stretched 
out Lake Erie, covered with vessels 
of many kinds, that, with their white 
sails flopping in the wind, resembled 
huge vultures of the sea. Suddenly the 
shrill whistle of a steamboat was heard; 
whereupon the young man embraced 
and kissed his companion and tear- 
fully hastened away in the direction 
from which the disturbing messenger 
had come. 

A person's action is but the indication 
of his mind. To understand this action 

~ [9] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



we must penetrate the marvellous folds 
of that mind, and there detect the source 
from which issue the mysterious mes- 
sages that kindle the eye in the joy 
of meeting and crush the heart in the 
anguish of parting. Applying this 
method of discovery to the incident 
which has been related in the fore- 
going lines, necessitates the giving of 
a brief history of the young persons 
who have been introduced. 

Albert and Ruth Burdett were brother 
and sister; they were born and brought 
up in the city in which we met them. 
Their father, who died about five years 
previous, had been a successful merchant, 
possessed of genial nature, fond of social 
gatherings and fond of the treacherous 
beverage, whiskey, which was then 
retailed at twenty cents a gallon, and 
which, by its worshippers, was lauded 
as a medicine. The result was inevi- 
table. Slowly, but with an unfailing 



[10] 



THE PARTING 



accuracy, this medicine did its work. 
The steady use for years made the 
formerly vigorous man a palsied wreck. 
The prayers and tears of his wife could 
not arrest the tragical end, the premature 
death and the drunkard's grave. Upon 
Albert, then but fourteen years old, 
fell the main burden of providing for 
the destitute family. A life-insurance 
policy was found among the deceased's 
private papers; the policy, however, 
had been long since forfeited for the 
non-payment of dues. 

The mother, once the enthusiastic and 
able teacher in the public schools of 
Buffalo, had accepted her lover's offer of 
marriage without the precaution of inves- 
tigating his former habits. She was 
entirely ignorant, at the time of her 
marriage, of his fondness for liquor. 

Before the birth of her oldest child, 
however, she had noticed, with deadly 
fear, her husband's growing passion for 



tin 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



strong drink. Dreading the results that 
might ensue to her posterity, the chief 
task of her life was henceforth to counter- 
act the hereditary tendencies of nature 
by teaching her children that self-control 
and those high ideals of virtue which, 
like a talisman, guard their possessor 
against the vices of this life and insure 
for him a happy old age. 

Although the payment of the expenses 
of her husband's last sickness and death 
had necessitated the sale of every avail- 
able means of future support, the mother 
was determined to keep her family 
together. Albert's scanty earnings 
proved insufficient to provide for the 
necessaries of life, therefore the frail 
mother was compelled to take in sewing 
and other light work in order to make a 
living. Thus unremitting work, depress- 
ing care and tantalizing fear of the 
future were slowly draining her life. 
Five years after her husband's death, the 



12 



THE PARTING 



mother was also summoned. She died 
in her son's arms, with an indescribable 
expression of love and tenderness in her 
eyes, after her darling boy had pledged 
to remain ever true to her teachings. 

The memory of that moment overcame 
Albert when, in the painful hurry of 
another parting, he saw, or seemed to see, 
in his sister's eyes the reflection of his 
angel-mother's last look. 

With a small sum of money that was 
left from the proceeds of a public sale, 
Albert purchased a steamboat ticket for 
Milwaukee, and a valise for his clothes. 
These, together with a few school books 
that he had refused to sell, constituted 
his entire wealth, all of which he had left 
on board the steamer on the evening 
before he was to leave Buffalo. His 
sister had found a home with a friend of 
the family, by whom she was welcomed 
as a daughter. Thus freed from present 
care, brother and sister had, on the 



[13] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



morning of Albert's departure for the 
West, once more visited their mother's 
grave and those other places to which the 
heart-strings will cling most firmly when 
leaving the old home. 

Westward! W T hat a word then and 
now! Like magic arose before Albert's 
view endless prairies, gigantic streams, 
sparkling lakes, primeval forests, tower- 
ing mountains, eternal snow, eternal 
spring, wealth, power, and freedom from 
social rank and social vice! Whose 
pulse would not beat quicker, and whose 
eyes would not shine brighter, at the 
thought of the glorious West? 



[14 



Chapter II 

FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 

IN those gloomy days of political unrest 
and grim signs of an approaching 
storm, that was steadily fanned by 
the friends of free trade and slavery, 
business was almost at a standstill; 
public and private improvements were 
not even considered; consequently, the 
demand for labor was stagnant in the 
East as well as in the West. Money was 
scarce; interest thereon and the prices of 
all commodities were high; whereas the 
prices of labor and produce were low. 

Albert's ambition, from early boyhood, 
had been to go West; now that his 
mother had died and his sister had been 
provided with a pleasant home, there was 
nothing to keep him from carrying out 
his wish. 

The whistle, which caused the young 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



persons' abrupt parting, had been the last 
signal prior to the departure of the steam- 
boat on which Albert had secured passage. 
Although running as fast as he could, he 
was too late; the boat had just started. 
Through the captain's kindness, how- 
ever, who had noticed the boy's frantic 
efforts to be taken along, the steamer was 
stopped and a rope was thrown to the 
belated boy, with the help of which he 
got on board. 

This incident taught Albert, in the 
most practical manner, the importance 
of punctuality. He, then, for the first 
time, comprehended fully the wisdom 
and magnitude of his mother's gentle 
rebukes, which had been caused by his 
occasional acts of carelessness in that 
direction. 

The boat was a large one, with side 
wheels that were driven by two gigantic 
steam engines. The steam was gener- 
ated by wood, since wood was then a far 



[16] 



FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 

cheaper fuel and was more easily obtained 
than coal. A large majority of the 
passengers were emigrants from Europe 
who had landed at New York, thence 
they had been taken by rail to Buffalo 
and from that city they were sent by 
steamers to the various states adjoining 
the lakes. 

As soon as Albert was on board, he 
thanked the captain for his kindness and 
asked whether in return he could do 
anything for him. The captain, with an 
approving smile, said, "All right, my 
boy!" and then turned to a uniformed 
officer and whispered a few words which 
Albert failed to understand. Commin- 
gling with the passengers, Albert was 
surprised at the various languages spoken 
and the different costumes worn. He 
marvelled why Europe did not simplify 
intercourse among her nations by adopt- 
ing one language, instead of clinging to a 
score or more, which he heard spoken 

~l [17] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



among the passengers, and which only 
the few chosen ones were able to under- 
stand. His first acquaintance was a 
young Dane, whom he aided in removing 
a heavy trunk from the passage-way. 
The Dane, desirous of thanking Albert, 
addressed him in Danish, which language 
Albert could understand no more than he 
could understand the language of the 
birds. 

Upon inquiry Albert ascertained that 
Denmark with her two million inhab- 
itants, Norway with about the same 
number and Sweden with a few millions 
more, had each a separate language, 
although the entire population of those 
three countries was but a trifle more than 
that of the State of New York. Young as 
our friend was, he comprehended keenly 
what obstacles to a universal education 
these different languages must offer in 
those three countries, which by nature 
and ancestry should be but one. This 



[18] 



FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 

young reasoner, in whom was instilled the 
love of meditation, which had hitherto 
been encouraged and guided by his 
mother, had very little time to ponder 
over the languages and nations of Europe, 
since the officer to whom the captain had 
spoken, requested him to sweep the deck 
and thereafter to report to him. Albert 
at once went to work with an enthusiasm 
which could not fail of recognition by his 
superiors. 

From that time to the landing at Mil- 
waukee, Albert was steadily employed 
under the direction of this officer, who 
was the ship's steward, and who proved to 
be a kind friend and master. During the 
few days of the journey Albert assisted 
the cook and the machinists; helped at 
the different stations to take in the cord 
wood that was used as fuel under those 
large boilers ; polished the windows of the 
different cabins, and in fact made himself 
so useful that he became the favorite of 



19] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



all. He was also one of nature's favorites ; 
slender and a trifle taller than the average 
man, with deep-set gray eyes and broad 
forehead, and with features that expressed 
the honesty of his actions and his desire 
to please, he appeared like a sunbeam 
among the anxious and careworn faces of 
the strangers on board. 

At the end of the journey the steward 
handed him a five-dollar bill and invited 
him to remain in service on board the 
ship at a corresponding rate of wages. 
Albert was amazed to receive pay for 
services that by agreement he had ren- 
dered free of charge, and to receive an 
offer of employment when he had feared 
that his work had been so insignificant 
and poorly done as not to meet approval, 
nor had he ever thought of a permanent 
occupation on board of any ship. He 
reluctantly took the money, but excused 
himself for not accepting the offer of 
further employment. Albert was unable 



[20 



FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 

to express his longing for the West and 
for the realization of his dreams of 
independence, which had chiefly pre- 
vented him from accepting the steward's 
kind offer; or else he would have added 
an explanation to his excuse, thus lessen- 
ing, if not entirely disarming, the chagrin 
that the steward felt upon Albert's flat 
refusal. 

Albert left the ship's crew with a heavy 
heart, fully appreciating the value of 
such an offer when labor everywhere 
went begging and enterprise seemed to 
be extinct. The steward's chilly good- 
bye and his refusal to shake hands with 
Albert upon parting, tormented the boy 
with the kind heart; and if he had not 
accidentally heard that the captain's in- 
terest in him had been chiefly caused by 
the fact that Albert's mother, whose 
history the captain well knew, had been 
for years the teacher of his children, and 
that her unwise marriage and its fatal 

[21] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



results had been known and freely com- 
mented upon, especially by the parents of 
her scholars, Albert would have immedi- 
ately returned and would have accepted 
the offer of employment with thanks. 
While Albert appreciated the captain's 
kindness, he instinctively shrunk from 
being pitied, preferring to choose the path 
carved out by himself, no matter how 
difficult of ascent, to the easy, well trod- 
den path prepared by others. 

Who is going to blame the boy? Is 
not the man's ideal likewise his heaven, 
no matter whether it leads him to fame 
or to death? 

Milwaukee was then, as it is now, one 
of the prettiest cities in the West. Upon 
Albert's arrival the rays of the setting sun 
were reflected by the scrupulously clean 
windows of its buildings. Delighted with 
the sombre beauty of the city and land- 
scape, he searched for a modest, but clean, 
hotel, in which the charges would be in 



[22 



FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 

accordance with the condition of his 
purse. He made these arrangements in 
anticipation of finding something to do 
in order to enjoy the beauties of the city 
and its surroundings before going further 
west. 

For five days he searched for employ- 
ment, being ready and willing to do any 
honest work for any reasonable compensa- 
tion. A farmer, living about five miles 
from the city, offered him work on his 
farm for the entire fall and winter, agree- 
ing to pay him five dollars a month with 
board and lodging until December first 
of that year and thereafter board and 
lodging only. Albert was very reluctant 
to accept that offer and asked the friendly 
farmer for three days' time in order to 
find a better job, if possible, to which 
request the farmer cheerfully assented. 

Albert had never worked on a farm; 
he understood nothing about that work; 
the wages were so low as scarcely to 

[23] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



enable him to purchase the necessary 
clothing during the approaching winter. 
With such thoughts, he walked anxiously 
through the streets of Milwaukee on the 
last day before he would be bound. He 
had striven hard to obtain some better 
paying and more congenial employment, 
but all in vain; every employer whom he 
had asked for work had promised some- 
body else the place if a vacancy should 
occur. His courage was tested sorely; his 
glowing picture of the West was rapidly 
displaced by scenes of ghastly poverty; 
he even censured himself for having 
rejected the ship steward's generous offer, 
and as a partial consolation he resolved 
to act more wisely in the future. 

While wrapped up in such gloomy 
thoughts, and in the very act of return- 
ing to his hotel, resolved to accept the 
farmer's offer, he observed a man posting 
on a billboard a placard containing the 
following announcement : 



[24] 



FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST 



MEN WANTED! Wages 85 Cents a day! Free 

Transportation ! Enquire at the office of 

Railroad Company. 

Agent. 

This timely information kindled a ray 
of hope and confidence in Albert's down- 
cast mood. He thought of his mother's 
steadfast belief, often expressed by her, 
that the darker the night the nearer and 
brighter would be the morning. No 
brighter morning had ever dawned for 
her; disappointment and anguish had 
ever been her lot; or was her last look, so 
full of love and confidence, despite the 
death struggle, the dawning of that 
brighter morning? 

With clenched teeth he fought down 
the tears and went to work. He searched 
for the railroad company's agent; ascer- 
tained the condition and the kind of the 
future employment; stipulated with the 
agent about the time of leaving for his 
new field of labor; sent notice to his 

[25] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



farmer friend; settled with his landlord, 
whose bill balanced Albert's cash, and on 
the next morning he entered the cars for 
the unknown West. 



[26] 



Chapter III 

THE FLIGHT 

THE journey by rail proved very 
interesting to Albert. The rail- 
road was but recently built; the 
roadbed was still rough; the speed of the 
train was rapid and the motion of the 
cars was correspondingly jolting. The 
varying panorama of the landscape was, 
on the other hand, so beautifully strange 
and pleasing that Albert's attention was 
continually riveted upon those scenes 
of passing forests that had never been 
disturbed by man; of endless prairies 
that were covered with strange flowers; 
of glittering lakes that resembled spark- 
ling diadems in Queen Nature's crown, 
and of rivulets that seemed to be the 
silvery paths of nymphs. These pictures 
were now and then interrupted only by 
a lonely building or some little hamlet or 

[27] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



town. Albert's imagination was aroused 
to the utmost, notwithstanding the oc- 
casional bumps that he received from the 
refractory car nor the pangs of hunger 
caused by an empty stomach and an 
empty purse. 

About an hour before sunset Albert 
noticed every now and then, far in the 
west between a chain of hills, what 
appeared to be a white cloud, upon which 
the rays of the sun were reflected with an 
unusual brilliancy. While his whole 
attention was directed to that phenome- 
non, the train was rounding a curve; 
what had hitherto appeared like a cloud 
to Albert's searching eyes, revealed itself 
now to be in fact the Mississippi, the 
"Father of Waters," stretching his gigan- 
tic arms toward both poles, encircling 
large islands, carrying majestic ships and 
silently, but irresistibly, gliding onward 
to his destination. Albert gazed, with 
folded hands, upon that stupendous sight, 



[28] 



THE FLIGHT 



of which no description had ever given 
him even a faint idea, and of which no 
picture had ever been a remote resem- 
blance of its grandeur. 

Upon arrival at the terminus of that 
branch of the railroad, an official directed 
the passengers who desired to continue 
their journey on that evening, to a land- 
ing on the bank of the river. A small 
ferry boat, driven by steam, awaited the 
travelers, among whom was Albert, who, 
wearied from the day's exciting scenes, 
penniless and hungry, wondered what the 
next developments would bring. 

A twenty minutes' ride among some 
islands landed them at dusk on the desired 
shore. The outlook was discouraging; 
no buildings of any kind were visible; 
the boat was tied to a rude platform that 
was fastened on logs; while as far as 
the eye could reach nothing but willows 
could be seen. A farmer with his ox-team 
and wagon, a few boys and a tall man with 



[29] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



a lantern, received the newcomers; no 
other being was in sight and Albert felt 
as if he were entering a new and unex- 
plored world. 

The man with the lantern turned out 
to be the postmaster of the next village, 
Albert's destination, and its sole hotel- 
keeper. However pleasant the meeting 
of Uncle Sam's protecting arm in the 
shape of a postmaster and a dispenser of 
the daily bread in one and the same per- 
son might have been to the other 
travelers, the dualistic nature of the 
officer indicated to Albert the size of the 
settlement which was to be his next home, 
and reduced his expectations in propor- 
tion which his picture of the great West 
bore to the picture of the supposed 
village beyond the willows. 

The captain of the little craft handed 
a mail-bag to the postmaster and also 
introduced him to Albert and the other 
two passengers as Mr. Henry who would 



[30] 



THE FLIGHT 



thereafter take care of them. Mr. 
Henry's invitation to follow him was 
gladly accepted. A mile's tramp on a 
poorly kept road brought them to a small 
village where they halted before a dimly 
lighted frame house. The landlord en- 
tered with his three followers and invited 
them to sit down and make themselves 
at home, while he would be distributing 
the mail in the next room. Albert smiled 
at the suggestion of making himself at 
home in the dingy room that was filled 
with rough pine tables and benches, 
interspersed with a few indifferent looking 
chairs. One wall was decorated with 
some plain pine shelving upon which 
stood a large assortment of half-filled 
bottles containing a variety of whiskies 
and brandies. The air was still dense 
with tobacco smoke instead with the 
fragrance of a tasty supper, and Albert 
was penniless, tired and hungry! 

His traveling companions were an 



[31] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Irishman and a German; both middle 
aged, and neither showed any signs of 
discomfort; on the contrary, they 
searched for their tobacco, filled and 
lighted their pipes, leaned back in their 
chairs and smoked, filling the room 
denser and denser with smoke and com- 
pelling Albert, who had never used 
tobacco, to go outdoors in order to keep 
from choking. 

In the meantime the landlord was busy 
with sorting and handing out the mail to 
several callers, some of whom entered 
the so-called barroom and from there 
reached the small room in which the mail 
w T as distributed and which was called 
the post office. This latter room was 
also accessible from the street. 

As soon as the postmaster was alone,. 
Albert entered and asked him whether 
there would be any show of obtaining 
supper and a night's lodging without 
present payment; explaining further that 



[32 



THE FLIGHT 



he had been sent by the railroad company 
to work in the neighborhood, and that he 
would soon be able to pay his debt; 
yet, in order to secure the payment, he 
would pledge his valise and its contents 
with the landlord. The latter looked 
amused and kindly answered the con- 
scientious boy that a supper for the three 
guests was ready to be served in the 
dining-room; that Albert could stay over 
night without pledging his property; that 
the railroad company had sent him 
notice of the arrival of the three new 
men and that the company would be 
holden to him for the payment of their 
first night's lodging and one day's board. 
How little is sufficient to throw the 
human mind from gloom into exultation! 
The prospect of supper and the riddance 
of his immediate financial troubles, cast 
a ray of light over Albert's features that 
caused the landlord to lay his hand en 
Albert's shoulder and direct him into the 



[33] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



dining-room, where, behind a large table, 
which was covered with a neat cloth, 
stood the landlord's pretty daughter who 
pleasantly invited him to sit down and 
help himself. She then called the other 
two men, who were still smoking, to 
get ready and come to supper. They 
reluctantly put up their pipes and obeyed 
the order. During the meal Albert heard 
the daughter whisper to her mother in 
the adjoining kitchen: "See, mamma, 
what a contrast there is between the clean 
face of that boy and the smoked, grimy 
faces of the two men!" 

Early the next morning the guests were 
called to breakfast and told that the 
"boss" had sent for them, and for that 
purpose had entrusted his own light 
wagon and spirited horse to the messenger 
who was waiting for them outside. The 
news was gladly received by the three 
guests who, immediately after breakfast, 
mounted the boss's two-seated light 



[34] 



THE FLIGHT 



wagon. Albert seated himself beside the 
driver, a boy of his own age, after the 
two smokers had instinctively chosen one 
and the same seat, much to Albert's 
relief, who inwardly repeated the old 
saying, "Birds of a feather flock 
together." 

It was a beautiful morning as they 
drove through the little village; the sun 
had dispersed a light fog and was rapidly 
warming the chill morning air; the few 
stores were slowly opened and the smoke 
issuing from the chimneys, went straight 
up to heaven. 

The two boys were visibly touched by 
the majestic splendor around them, 
whereas the two men were lighting their 
pipes and bemoaning that their supply 
of tobacco would not last them until 
evening. A two-mile drive landed them 
in front of a large cabin, before which a 
group of laboring men was apparently 
waiting for the arrival of the re-enforce- 



[35] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



ment from the village. The newcomers 
were subjected to a close inspection by 
these men who were destined to become 
their co-workers. Albert was the first 
to dismount. With his valise in hand 
he bade a cheerful "good-morning" to 
the bystanders, who, without responding 
to his salute in any way, stared at him 
as if his appearance among them was a 
mistake, whereas the two men were 
welcomed with such ease and cordiality 
that invariably create in the stranger a 
home-like feeling and take from him, in 
the very beginning, the peculiar un- 
pleasant sensation of being among 
strangers. 

The boss, a man of middle age, tall, 
broad-shouldered, red-faced, with a light 
moustache and sharp gray eyes, welcomed 
the newcomers with a hearty shaking of 
hands and directed them to put their 
bundles in certain parts of the cabin and 
then, if they were ready, to commence 



36 



THE FLIGHT 



the work with the others. His directions 
were readily obeyed, especially by Albert, 
who had been longing for a kind word 
from any one with whom he had to asso- 
ciate thereafter. 

The laborers formed two gangs; the 
two men were detailed to the one and 
Albert became a member of the other 
that was under the direct supervision of 
the boss himself. The cabin was built 
on the side of a high hill and was protected 
from the north and west winds by a 
thicket of jack oaks and underbrush. In 
a few minutes' walk toward the river the 
men reached their field of labor, namely, 
a roadbed at the foot of the hill, which 
was to be raised by the removal of earth 
from the adjoining hill, until the required 
grade was reached. The wheelbarrows 
used for that purpose were run on planks 
that were supported by devices made 
of scantlings. These devices were of 
different heights in order to conform to 



[37 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the varying elevations between the hill 
and the grade. Each gang was sub- 
divided into diggers and wheelers; Albert, 
who had the choice of the two occupa- 
tions, chose the wheeling. 

At noon, the two gangs met at the 
cabin; the practice of washing hands 
and face at noon seemed not to exist 
among them, consequently Albert had 
to shift as well as he could in order to 
yield to that lifelong habit of washing 
himself at noon, without letting his 
violation of the prevailing fashion be 
noticed by the company. Upon entering 
the cabin, Albert observed at a glance 
the frowzy red hair of the woman and 
the streaky hands of her spouse, with 
which he gave the finishing touches to 
the knives, forks and spoons that were 
scattered upon the two tables. 

Stationary wooden benches served as 
chairs. A baby, apparently six months 
old, was lying upon a couch near the 



[38] 



THE FLIGHT 



cooking stove, kicking and yelling lustily. 
The whole scene had a depressing influ- 
ence upon Albert, which was considerably 
enhanced after he had fished from the 
soup one of those red hairs; and after the 
husband, with his streaky hands, had cut 
a special large piece of bread that he 
handed to Albert, and after the baby 
kept on yelling notwithstanding its 
mother's boisterous scolding. Albert's 
appetite and hunger, although keen at 
first, fled, and after excusing himself, he, 
too, fled from the untouched dinner into 
the clean atmosphere outside where, 
throwing himself down among the trees, 
he wondered why man himself should 
be his greatest foe. 

Still faint from hunger, the disen- 
chanted boy stood his ground with heroic 
courage during the afternoon's work. 
His Irish friends, who loved to joke with 
the greenhorn, as they called Albert, took 
special pains to load his wheelbarrow the 



39] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



heaviest in order to test his strength and 
make him ask for a change. Toward 
evening Albert's hands were blistered, 
his back was almost broken and his limbs 
trembled from the unusual work; he 
was in the act of demanding a rest when 
luckily a loud whistle gave the sign that 
the day's labor was ended. 

The shovels were then cleaned, as they 
had been at noon, with such unusual 
care that Albert wished that the same 
care would thereafter be applied to the 
victuals and dishes of the culinary depart- 
ment. All hands then gathered in front 
of the cabin around two barrels of water 
and a few benches on which were scattered 
several wash-basins and pieces of soap. 
Each gang used one barrel, one bench and 
one towel. When Albert's turn came 
to use the towel, which in the beginning 
had been of questionable cleanliness, 
but which now had the color of the soil 
they had handled all day, he, whose 



[40] 



THE FLIGHT 



mother had taught him to observe the 
utmost cleanliness, shrank from touching 
it, but preferred to let the wind do the 
drying part. 

The unpleasant features at the dinner 
table were more or less applicable to the 
supper. Albert managed, only with the 
utmost self-control, to eat sufficiently to 
lessen in part the pain of the gnawing 
hunger, which, after the short rest from 
work, had attacked him fiercely. 

For the better understanding of the 
events that took place after supper, which 
will be hereafter related, a brief reference 
to the educational standing of the acting 
persons is necessary. 

A large majority of the laborers who 
were employed in the two gangs, were 
of foreign birth. They were jovial and 
witty, but, as a rule, lamentably defi- 
cient in general knowledge and in 
the culture which a general knowledge 
necessarily creates. Albert, however, 



[41] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



had received from early infancy special 
training from his mother, who had care- 
fully nourished and guided the boy's 
inquisitiveness; his teachers had followed 
his mother's methods and principles. 
They had a special liking for the boy with 
the open face, whose eyes seemed to 
implore them incessantly for a revelation 
of the wonders which he met daily. Nor 
did this educating process end when 
his father died and he was compelled to 
leave school in order to aid his mother in 
keeping the family together; although 
steadily employed, he still, with his 
mother's help, found and forced oppor- 
tunities to enlarge his knowledge. 

Albert's appearance among his co- 
laborers became at once one of the topics 
of conversation. His acts and language, 
his reserve at the table and elsewhere 
were criticized by some and praised by 
others. He had been, during the work- 
ing hours, considerably annoyed by some 



[42] 



THE FLIGHT 



attempted ridicule of his actions uttered 
by several of his co-laborers while con- 
versing in a tone just loud enough to be 
heard and understood by him. It was 
plainly observable that his better lan- 
guage, more refined conduct and his 
abstaining from the use of tobacco, 
made him odious to the envious and evil 
disposed members of both gangs. 

After supper Albert selected a quiet 
spot in the grove and read the newspaper 
which his kind landlord had given him 
on the evening before. Exhausted as he 
was, he soon fell asleep and did not 
awaken until he heard a loud voice calling 
him. Entering the cabin, a strange sight 
met him; the large space along the walls, 
between them and the benches, was filled 
with straw upon which had been placed 
blankets and pillows; two blankets and 
one pillow were apportioned to each 
person; several of the men were sleeping, 
while about ten of them were seated 



[43] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



around one of the tables, smoking and 
frequently passing to each other a gallon 
jug filled with whiskey, of which the com- 
pany drank freely. 

A loud, coarse laugh greeted Albert as 
he entered; one of the drinkers, who 
had just finished a considerable swig, 
handed the jug to Albert with the remark 
that a good drink would stiffen him for 
the next day's labor. Albert politely 
refused. His would-be benefactor there- 
upon angrily demanded the reason why 
he refused, to which Albert made no 
answer, but asked the cook's husband, 
who had just entered, what sleeping 
arrangements had been made for the 
newcomers. Before the latter could 
answer several of the drinkers had arisen, 
among them the first questioner, who, 
once more handing the jug to Albert, 
sternly demanded him to drink or be 
damned. 

By this time every person in the cabin 



44 



THE FLIGHT 



was awake and looked at the contestants 
with eager interest, mentally choosing 
sides between them in anticipation of the 
approaching fight, which, as experience 
had taught them, was sure to follow. 
Albert's antagonist was by far the taller 
and heavier of the two, and, fired with 
whiskey, he became a dangerous man; 
all of which was known to the older hands, 
but not to Albert. Angered by the rough 
and commanding tone of his tormentor, 
he shoved the jug to one side and was 
about to select that part of the straw 
and blankets as his bed where his valise 
had been placed, when he was savagely 
interrupted. Provoked at Albert's silence 
and refusal to drink, the infuriated Irish- 
man, with an oath, seized the jug and 
struck at his head ; Albert, how T ever, with 
almost lightning speed, dodged the blow, 
snatched his valise and fled. 



[45] 



Chapter IV 

CONGENIAL FRIENDS 

"X^TTHAT next?" These words 
^/^ were involuntarily uttered 
™ by Albert as he hastened 

from the scene in which his cup of misery 
had been filled to the brim. He pene- 
trated the dark night toward the village 
that contained the only place for which he 
longed, namely, the little room in which 
the landlord's outstretched hand and 
sympathetic words had brought to the 
wandering orphan a touch of home. 
What a magnet is a kind word! How 
rapid were the strides with which Albert 
hurried to the only kind face that he had 
met in the great West. He soon lost the 
faint wagon track that led to the village, 
yet he tramped swiftly onward, being 
directed by the great river only, his 
earthly friend, since all the celestial 

[46] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



guides, sun, moon and stars, had failed 
to give him light. Although nearly a 
mile distant from the river he heard the 
splashing of its waters and saw occasion- 
ally the glimmering of its bright face. 

In this connection his mind recalled 
the beauty of yesterday's picture as he 
unexpectedly beheld the river and its 
majestic valley. He pondered over the 
present gloomy situation, which, as he 
reasoned, had been brought about by 
man's depravity only. Suddenly, like 
the recollection of a long forgotten mel- 
ody, came to his agitated heart that belief 
in the final triumph of justice; that peace 
of mind which man has vainly sought 
in the grave-like stillness of the cloister 
and in the bloody tumult of battle; that 
peace which descends only to him who, 
like his friend the river, quietly and 
steadily performs his duties and rids 
himself from the slush of the world with- 
out soiling his conscience. 



[47] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



"But did he do his duty when he 
refused to give his reason for not touching 
the liquor?" severely asked his well- 
trained conscience, its severity being 
somewhat increased by the recollection of 
his departed mother's patience with him 
when he had failed in that respect; yet 
this very recollection consoled and tor- 
mented him at the same time. Was not 
the use of liquor sanctioned by high and 
low, and did not his refusal to drink 
appear as obstinacy intended to provoke a 
quarrel with a drunken man? Why did 
he not tell his assailant that he had 
pledged to his dying mother never know- 
ingly to drink a drop of liquor? Would 
not that answer have prevented the ugly 
scene? Perhaps! Should he, however, 
in such company have mentioned his 
mother's name, spoken of her last mo- 
ments which he had ever regarded as the 
most sacred recollection of his life? No! 
Rather than to commit such a sacrilege 



[48] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



he would suffer the odium of being called 
a coward. 

Albert's heart grew lighter at the 
thought that he, on the spur of the 
moment, had acted wisely and justly. 
Serenely, like his friend the river, he 
pursued his way, entering the hotel with 
beaming face just as the landlord shook 
hands with a tall, bearded man of middle 
age and bade him a good night. 

Albert's entrance at that late hour — the 
clock was striking eleven — had a remark- 
able effect upon the landlord, who, with 
a queer expression of wonder, turned to 
his tall visitor and said: "That is the 
very boy I told you about." Both men 
thereupon shook hands with Albert and 
pointing to his valise asked him: "Now, 
tell us!" 

They seated themselves around a table 
on which the landlord placed crackers 
and cheese; having been informed of 
Albert's peculiar aversion to whiskey 



[49] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and tobacco he added a glass of soda 
water for the boy, while he and his friend 
took brandy and munched crackers be- 
tween drinks; whereas, Albert, with an 
appetite becoming a twenty-year-old boy 
and with a corresponding hunger after 
the day's fasting, made the crackers 
disappear as quickly as he had made the 
clouds of misery disappear, that but a 
short time since had almost driven him 
to distraction. 

After Albert had faithfully related the 
events that had caused his flight, both 
men shook hands with their young friend, 
fully approving his conduct. The land- 
lord added that rows among those two 
gangs had been frequent, and that they 
must have had a severe fight among 
themselves after Albert had left, since 
the village doctor had been sent for and 
had not yet returned. 

The landlord then explained to Albert 
that his friend, John Gibson, was engaged 



[50] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



with a company of young men in grading 
a part of the railroad-bed near the village, 
and that the company desired to engage 
a few more young and decent men to 
help, and for that purpose had authorized 
Mr. Gibson to call at the hotel on that 
evening to inquire after any new and 
suitable arrivals and at his discretion 
engage one or more. Mr. Gibson, who 
in that vicinity was known by the name 
of John, by which name we shall also 
know him hereafter, replied that the 
landlord, just before Albert's entrance, 
had spoken of a young man who had 
come to the village on the evening before 
and who would have been the desired 
man if the railroad company had not 
sent him to the Irish division; that 
therefore Albert's entrance (who was 
the young man referred to) at that time, 
with valise in hand, seemed to them 
miraculous; but that the miracle, now 
fully explained, had nothing more wonder- 



51 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



ful in it than there had been in miracles 
that occurred many years ago. 

John further stated that his company 
was composed of nine members; each 
one having received a fair common school 
education, and some of them had even 
attended colleges and universities; that 
the company was a peculiar mixture of 
nationalities, but since they were all 
sensible and temperate no serious quarrels 
had as yet arisen. At this juncture 
Albert glanced involuntarily at the empty 
glass before the speaker; John, noticing 
the movement, repeated smilingly: "Yes, 
all are temperate, even I, who use liquor 
strictly medicinally." 

John further explained that his com- 
pany had contracted with the railroad 
company for the building of a large stretch 
of roadbed at a certain price per cubic 
yard; that they were paid semi-monthly, 
but that ten per cent, of the amount 
earned was withheld until the final com- 



[52] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



pletion and acceptance of the roadbed 
as provided for in a written contract; 
that they had leased a two-story log 
house, adjoining the village, from the 
railroad company and had engaged a 
family to keep house for them; that after 
the payment of all the running expenses, 
the net earnings, during each fortnight, 
were divided among them in equal shares, 
and that hitherto the ninety per cent, of 
these earnings had exceeded the amount 
which they could have earned at the usual 
rate of eight-five cents a day. He 
continued that there was a serious danger 
of losing the ten per cent, by winter 
setting in early and preventing them 
from completing the job as agreed upon; 
that therefore the company was desirous 
of engaging one or more intelligent, sober 
and industrious young men who would 
accept these conditions and were willing 
to run the same risk of payment as the 
members of the company had done 



[53] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



hitherto. He then asked Albert whether 
he would accept a partnership on those 
terms. 

Instead of answering, Albert pressed 
his friend's hand. The unexpected offer, 
the sudden change from the prospect 
of humiliating poverty before him to 
an offer of a paying position among men 
of culture, acted upon his vocal organs 
as the sudden transition from utter 
darkness to brilliant light would have 
acted upon his organs of sight. At the 
parting on that evening it was agreed 
that Albert should stay at the hotel over 
night, and on the following day, after 
breakfast, join his new comrades at their 
work. 

Next morning Albert appeared at the 
appointed place. He was cordially 
greeted by John and the other members 
of the company who were in the act of 
commencing the day's work and who, 
like the members of the Irish gang, gave 



[54] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



him the choice between digging and 
wheeling. He chose, as before, the 
wheeling. 

Albert worked with a will. The 
intelligent faces about him served as an 
inspiration to his mind and as a strength- 
ens to his muscles. He soon noticed 
that his wheelbarrow was less heavily 
loaded than those of the others, which 
caused him to beg the diggers, quaintly 
and sincerely, not to stint him but to 
give him his full share and more, if pos- 
sible. As soon as his demand had been 
communicated to those that had failed 
to hear, a rippling laughter broke out, 
and a young man, dressed in blue over- 
alls, turned his wheelbarrow upside down, 
mounted it, and with a loud voice, but 
with an accent that clearly marked him 
to be a foreigner, proposed to give the 
new recruit three cheers in recognition 
of his courage, sense of justice, and of 
having successfully passed the ordeal of 



[55 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



initiation as the new member of the 
Log House Company. The three cheers 
were given amidst the banging of shovels 
and the rattling of wheelbarrows; then 
every member shook hands with Albert, 
after which the work was resumed with 
increased energy and with increased 
results. 

At precisely twelve o'clock at noon 
John, who was evidently the manager, 
called "Dinner," whereupon every wheel- 
barrow stopped and every shovel was 
dropped. Albert expected that accord- 
ing to the practice in vogue with the Irish 
gang, the shovels would be carefully 
cleaned before going to dinner; therein, 
however, he was strangely disappointed. 
He failed to recognize that the skilled 
builders of railroads, for which the Irish 
were noted, although lacking in the so- 
called culture otherwise, will do their 
utmost to reach their ideal of building 
railroads, whereas the college-bred youth, 



[56] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



whose ideal is yet the building of air- 
castles, is very apt to overlook some essen- 
tial point in building railroads. 

The men started toward the house 
which was located in a grove, about two 
hundred rods distant from where the 
grading was carried on. Upon the way 
John briefly informed Albert of the 
name, nationality and, as far as he knew, 
of the history of each member of the 
company and that their ages varied 
between twenty and twenty-five years. 
Commencing with Fred Lambert, the 
speaker of the morning, John gave the 
following sketches: 

"Fred Lambert is a native of Germany 
and a graduate of one of its universities. 
He left Germany in order to escape a 
military career that had been mapped 
out for him by his parents and relatives. 
He drifted West for want of congenial 
employment in the East; from a boot- 
black in a hotel he rose to a wielder of 



[57] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the shovel, and he is now a valuable 
member of this organization. 

"Ralph Bowdoin and Paul Gerard are 
two New England boys. They were 
friends in the East and remained friends 
in the West. Both were graduated at 
the same time from an eastern high 
school, began teaching school, and during 
vacations read law with some practicing 
attorneys. Becoming short of money, 
they tried the great West and her enticing 
fortunes by commencing to help build a 
railroad. 

"Byron Burns is an Englishman; he 
ran away from his studies in Oxford 
University and from a guardian's tyranny, 
as he expressed it, in order to breathe 
the air of freedom in America, of which 
our prairies gave him more than he 
expected or desired. He is a close 
reasoner, an indefatigable student, and 
an excellent worker with the shovel; 
each evening he copies a list of German 



[58] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



words and commits them to memory on 
the next day during working hours. 

"Hugo Brenner, a native of Prussia, 
had been drafted to serve his king for 
three years as a soldier; after serving three 
months he left his country in full uniform, 
armed with sword and musket and crossed 
the Prussian frontier, at midnight, into 
Belgium; there he changed his attire, 
packed his uniform, sword and musket 
securely in a large trunk, dressed himself 
as a Belgian student, took the train to 
Havre and then went by ship to New 
York and finally to the West. 

"Carl Kron is a native of Denmark; his 
parents died while he was still in his teens. 
He had by hard work earned sufficient 
money to attend two terms of an eastern 
college, but was then compelled to go 
back to work for the want of funds. 
He, too, followed the emigration to the 
West and is now a good worker and a 
close student. 

[59] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



"Lou Johnson is a Norwegian. He 
left his native land when he was sixteen 
in order to join his uncle, who was a 
resident of Michigan. On the day he 
arrived, the uncle was buried, leaving 
a widow and three small children with 
scarcely sufficient means to sustain them. 
He stayed a few days with his relatives, 
did what he could for them and then 
hired out to a farmer with the privilege 
of attending school whenever it was 
in session. He became a passable good 
English scholar. When he was twenty 
years of age he quit farming and came 
West. 

"Peter Ivan is a native of Hungary; 
while attending a university in Austria he 
fought a duel with an Austrian nobleman's 
son, whom he crippled for life, and for 
which he was condemned to a long term 
of imprisonment. He escaped to the 
United States by a daring flight which, 
at the time, created a great deal of 



[60] 



CONGENIAL FRIENDS 



interest among all classes of people in 
Europe. 

"About you and me, we shall talk at 
some other time," laughingly remarked 
John as they arrived at the log house 
before which their comrades, who had 
been less deeply engaged in conversa- 
tion, stood ready to enter for dinner. 



[61] 



Chapter V 

THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

WHEN they entered the dining- 
room a well-cooked dinner, 
tastefully arranged and ready 
to be served, stood upon a long table 
which was covered with a spotless cloth. 
The whole scene forcibly impressed Albert 
by its simple elegance and scrupulous 
cleanliness. His mind wandered back 
to another room and table, equally elegant 
in its cleanliness and tasty arrangement, 
and created in him a homelike feeling 
that he had missed since his mother's 
death. While he was still comparing the 
old home with the new, a middle-aged 
lady entered the dining-room and invited 
the men to be seated, since dinner had 
been ready for some time. Her voice 
sounded to Albert as a greeting from 
a better world ; it was so clear and precise 

[62] 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

and yet full of sympathy, and caused his 
dream of home to continue. Albert's 
dream was realized when John introduced 
the lady, whom he called Mrs. Graham, 
to his young friend, and she, with 
unmistakable kindness in her voice, wel- 
comed him as "the hero of the cabin" 
and as the new member of her household. 

John was seated at the head of the 
table; the lady assigned Albert to the 
opposite side, remarking that the placing 
of the oldest and youngest at the outposts 
of the company would insure success, 
at least, at the table. The lady's humor 
was contagious; Albert was astonished 
at the many witty, good-natured hits 
that were exchanged among his friends 
during the meal. He was furthermore 
exceedingly pleased at the absence of any 
and all coarse language among them. 

At the rapping on the table by the lady 
of the house two girls, evidently her 
daughters, brought in several dishes and 

[63] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



placed them on the table; this gave 
Fred Lambert, the late toastmaster at 
the roadbed grading, an opportunity to 
introduce Albert to the two blushing girls 
whom he called Miss Mary with the 
heavenly blue eyes, and Miss Lucy with 
two of the night's sparkling stars, and 
added that the newcomer was the only 
young man who had ever asked that his 
work should be harder without adding a 
prayer that his pay might be larger. 
Was it Fred Lambert's odd way of intro- 
duction, or was it the girls' ladylike 
behavior, that made Albert rise and 
blush like a girl who listens to the first 
declaration of love? Or was it the young 
man's inborn esteem of womanhood, 
irrespective of social condition, that made 
him bow to these two modest girls as 
he would have bowed had they been 
queens? 

The entire scene was so unique and 
pleasing that for a few seconds the eating 



[64] 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

was suspended in order to give the eye 
and ear a chance to observe the further 
developments. At this awkward pause, 
John helped the young persons over their 
embarrassment by asking Albert to sit 
down, and telling all present that his 
young friend had demanded but fair 
play, that he had been mistreated on the 
first day that he worked for their Irish 
neighbors, by having his wheelbarrow 
overloaded, whereas the present company 
had gone to the other extreme. This 
humorous explanation set everybody at 
ease. Albert sat down laughingly, the 
girls escaped to the kitchen, and the 
dinner was finished during a lively con- 
versation on divers topics. 

On the way to work John gave Albert 
a few facts relating to their housekeeper 
and her family, which briefly were the 
following: Mrs. Graham's husband was 
a ship-builder who had been working in 
a shipyard in the East from where, from 

T~ [65] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



time to time, he had sent money for the 
support of the family who resided in 
the village adjoining the log house. 
The amounts thus sent became less and 
less until they were so small that Mrs. 
Graham had to take her daughters out 
of school for the want of suitable clothing 
and partly for the doing of the housework 
while she did needlework which she had 
obtained from the distant city, in order 
to earn enough to pay the rent and 
other necessary expenses. Soon after 
a letter was received from the East that 
Mr. Graham had been sick and in debt 
and would not be able to send the next 
monthly allowance. The letter was 
signed "Whiskey" and nothing more. A 
subsequent letter directed to Mr. Graham 
was returned to Mrs. Graham marked 
"Not called for." Thereafter all further 
inquiries, written and verbal, about his 
residence, were unavailing. From that 
time both girls were obliged to help their 



[66] 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

mother with the needlework in order to 
make a scanty living. 

At that period the Log House Company 
was formed by these young men who had 
stranded in a neighboring city, and to 
whom had been leased, during the time 
they were working for the railroad com- 
pany, the log house in which they were 
then residing and after which their com- 
pany was named. This log house had 
for several years been used as a wayside 
inn and had been recently sold to the 
railroad company with all furniture. In 
that condition it was taken possession of 
by the new company. The village 
landlord had called the young men's 
attention to the Graham family, who, 
after some hesitation, agreed to keep 
house for them. After three months' 
trial, the family and the new company 
were so well satisfied with the arrange- 
ment and so assured of the other's pure 
intentions, that an agreement was en- 

[67] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



tered into between them extending the 
relations during the summer months. 
The railroad company had subsequently 
bought a section of timber adjoining the 
village and had engaged the young men 
to chop and pile five hundred cords of 
wood which was to be done before the 
opening of the next spring. 

Albert thanked his friend for the 
valuable and interesting statements per- 
taining to the Graham family and their 
own company. He appreciated to the 
fullest extent, John's friendship and con- 
fidence in him by these disclosures, and 
resumed work even more joyfully than 
before. 

In the afternoon Albert noticed with 
great interest the difference between the 
work that is performed by a laborer who 
is financially interested in the result and 
between the work of one who is hired and 
paid by the day only. The united 
interest of his present companions made 



[68 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

all work run smoothly and evenly, no 
trivial pretext was used for an occasional 
cessation of labor when the master's eye 
was not on them, as he had frequently 
observed the day before among the gang 
whose greatest reward for the labor of 
each individual was eighty -five cents a 
day, no matter how fast or slow they 
w T orked. He himself felt keenly the 
invigorating influence of being master 
instead of hireling; of being the architect 
of his own fortune instead of being the 
recipient of a predetermined morsel dealt 
out through the employer's will or neces- 
sity. 

In further tracing this idea his memory 
wandered back to the long winter evenings 
at home in which his mother had pointed 
out to him in history the downfall of all 
governments that had tolerated slavery 
and had been sustained by the labor of 
slaves and hirelings. Reasoning further 
in that line of thought his mind naturally 



[69 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and forcibly turned to his own country in 
which slavery was as much tolerated and 
protected as it had been in ancient 
Egypt, Greece and Rome. The magni- 
tude of this thought burst, for the first 
time, so powerfully upon him, that, while 
he was wheeling a heavy load from the 
pit to the grade on a plank only a foot 
wide, he lost his balance, precipitating 
himself and his wheelbarrow a distance 
of about ten feet, and nearly spraining 
his ankle. The result was a broken 
wheelbarrow, Albert's change of employ- 
ment from a wheeler to a digger and the 
proceedings in the evening, which will be 
related hereafter. 

While Albert, with all his might, was 
loading the wheelbarrow as his predeces- 
sor had done, he could not determine 
which caused him the greater pain, the 
sore ankle or the inability to solve his 
country's predicament of harboring slave 
labor. He had as yet not heard of the 



70 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

preparations that were being made for 
the final battle against slavery under the 
direction of Abraham Lincoln, the untu- 
tored cabin boy of Kentucky. The cares 
of a household had hidden from Albert 
the beginning of that gigantic struggle 
which was destined to sweep over the new 
world and drench its virgin soil with 
blood and tears. 

After supper on the same day, John 
called the members of the company 
together for a business meeting, espe- 
cially for the purpose of acquainting the 
new member with the company's unwrit- 
ten law. All members were present when 
John, the chairman, stated that the wilful 
or careless breaking or destroying of any 
property belonging to the company was 
punishable by the payment into the treas- 
ury of the value of the destroyed article, 
and that in case a dispute should arise 
whether the destruction had been careless 
or accidental only, a committee of three 



71 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



should be appointed to investigate the 
matter. John stated further that Albert's 
wheelbarrow had been almost totally- 
destroyed and that the wishes of the com- 
pany in that matter should be ascer- 
tained. Albert arose immediately and 
acknowledged that he had been careless 
and that he would pay. This statement 
was disputed by Lou Johnson, the Nor- 
wegian, who had loaded the fated vehicle 
and who claimed that the accident might 
have been caused by uneven loading. 
This version of the matter was seconded 
by the two Americans, Ralph Bowdoin 
and Paul Gerard, who insisted that a 
vote should decide that question and 
not Albert's confession of carelessness, 
since he was still a minor, and not com- 
petent to condemn himself. 

The chairman was not of the same 
opinion, claiming that Albert's confession 
of guilt, since he was working for himself, 
should be respected, although he was still 



[72] 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

of non-age; and he should be permitted 
to reimburse the company for the damage 
suffered. The new point of law that was 
raised by the chairman led to a further 
discussion, whether, under any circum- 
stances, a confession of guilt made by a 
person who was in his right mind and 
capable of understanding the situation, 
should or could be disregarded. Albert 
observed with pleasure that every speaker 
had the required sense to quit talking 
when he had nothing more to say, and 
that about one half of the members had 
studied the rudiments of law in the schools 
and colleges of their respective countries. 
The final result of the matter was that 
Albert's confession of guilt was accepted 
to the satisfaction of all the members. 

This controversy, insignificant as the 
points of issue might have been, taught 
them in a practical way the analytical 
power of discussion and the importance 
and ease with which the blending of 

[73] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the opinions of the old world with those 
of the new could be accomplished, if the 
contesting parties were honest, able and 
willing to put self below the common 
good. 

Encouraged by the recent success, 
the members resolved to enjoy many 
similar meetings and to change the name 
of "Log House Company" to "The Log 
House Club." The resolution was 
carried. 

During the evening's discussion the 
ladies of the house had been busy in 
cleaning the table, washing dishes, pre- 
paring eatables for the next day and in 
similar work. Albert was very desirous 
to renew his acquaintance with them and, 
if possible, appear more like himself in 
their society. This opportunity was 
granted him on the same evening in the 
following manner: 

After the club meeting had adjourned 
and Mrs. Graham and her daughters had 



74 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

completed their duties, they asked Albert's 
advice and help in locating and putting 
up a new bedstead that had been sent 
by the village hotel keeper for his accom- 
modation. The lady's agreeable voice 
and her sensible direction won at once 
Albert's esteem and confidence, and he 
complied with her wishes with such 
enthusiasm and understanding that Mrs. 
Graham could not suppress the desire 
of bestowing upon him some caressing 
word of approval. 

When all the arrangements for his 
present welfare had been completed, the 
lady asked him to get better acquainted 
with her daughters, since both of them 
felt very sorry on account of the disagree- 
able situation in which he had been placed 
at dinner by Fred Lambert's odd intro- 
duction. This time the mother, with a 
few complimentary words as to Albert's 
readiness to help, introduced him and 
expressed her pity for the afternoon's 

[75] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



accident. Albert, noticing a well-known 
arithmetic lying opened on the table at 
which the girls had been seated when he 
entered the room, asked, in order to 
direct their attention from him to them- 
selves, whether they were studying arith- 
metic. Both girls admitted that they 
were still endeavoring to keep up with 
their classes, hoping to attend school 
again the next year, and asked his advice 
as to the solving of a difficult problem that 
had been marked on the open page before 
them. When he had acquainted himself 
with what the author meant, he readily 
explained to the delighted girls the true 
method of solving the knotty problem, 
after which, with a pleasant "good- 
night," he took leave of his new friends. 
Albert was now fully settled in his new 
home; his bed and a small table occupied 
a corner of a spacious room upstairs; 
his roommates were Fred Lambert, Carl 
Kron, Ralph Bowdoin and Paul Gerard, 



76 



THE SOUL OF THE LOG HOUSE 

who occupied two other beds. The room 
was well ventilated and lighted. Al- 
though the bare logs were visible in the 
walls, the entire room invited Albert to 
make it not alone a place for sleeping 
but also a place for study. For that pur- 
pose he put up a shelf near the window, 
placed his school books upon it, and after 
this was done laid down to sleep and to 
dream of his late home in Buffalo. 



[77 



Chapter VI 

THE SOLUTION OF THE OLDEST QUESTION 
OF MANKIND 

THERE is no action so trivial but 
that it may have in its wake 
some unexpected results; for 
instance, Mrs. Graham, having over- 
heard Albert's ready way of explaining 
the intricate example of the evening 
before, called John's attention to Albert's 
exact knowledge of arithmetic and recom- 
mended him for the position of the com- 
pany's secretary. To this position was 
attached a substantial salary, as the work 
required the utmost exactness and con- 
siderable time after working hours. John 
thanked her for the information, and 
acting upon her suggestion, consulted 
the other members during the day as to 
their choice for secretary and Albert's 
fitness for that position. All were in 

[78] 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

favor of their youngest comrade, even 
Byron Burns, the present secretary. 

It was agreed to inform Albert that 
very evening of their choice, and in the 
event of his acceptance, to celebrate his 
appointment. After supper, when every- 
body was in the dining-room, including 
the ladies who shared the secret, but who 
had never attended a business session, 
John called the meeting to order. Turn- 
ing to Albert he informed him that, by 
the unanimous choice of the club, he 
was herewith appointed its secretary, 
with a salary of ten dollars a month in 
addition to his share of the net profits. 
Before Albert had time to recover from 
his surprise, Byron Burns handed him 
the books of the company with the 
assurance that he would cheerfully aid 
the newly installed secretary at any 
time when called upon. 

The presence of Mrs. Graham and her 
daughters, and their peculiar smile and 

[79] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



behavior, caused Albert to guess easily 
the source of his appointment. Bowing 
to the ladies and to the chairman, with a 
pleasant smile, but with a look of stern 
determination, he thanked his friends for 
the honor bestowed upon him, which he 
would accept under one condition only, 
namely, that in the future deliberations 
at their meetings the ladies of the house 
should be urged to take an active part. 
He assigned as his reasons that their work 
was equally as hard as that of the other 
members, that they worked as many 
hours, if not more, as the men, and that 
nature in her great wisdom compels 
the union of the intellect of both sexes for 
the attainment of perfect happiness and 
success in life. 

The impression of this speech upon his 
hearers was peculiar. Mrs. Graham 
blushed, her daughters nodded approval, 
the chairman leaned back in his chair 
and smiled, and the rest of the men got 



[80] 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

up and applauded their youngest member, 
who so ably had woven his mother's 
mature wisdom in his manly speech. 
When order was restored, John arose and 
favorably commented upon Albert's pro- 
posal. He invited all present, especially 
the ladies, to express themselves on the 
question before the house, claiming that 
a thorough discussion of the subject might 
lead to untold blessings. 

Mrs. Graham accepted the invitation 
and without rising, thanked Albert for 
his good opinion of women, but deplored 
the necessity of their absence from the 
meetings of the club for want of time, 
illustrating her point by mentioning but 
a partial list of duties which were waiting 
to be performed by her and her daughters 
that very evening, such as washing dishes, 
preparing the next morning's breakfast, 
mending garments and many other tasks 
equally important. She asserted in con- 
clusion that women, as the soul of the 



[81 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



household, should not interfere with men's 
work and that for these reasons mentioned 
she and her daughters should be excused. 
After this declaration a painful silence 
followed; at last Albert took the floor 
once more and thanked the lady for 
her frank statement, acknowledging its 
weight, but not its conclusiveness. He 
referred to the schools of his native city 
and to the efforts that had been made 
for separate schools on the basis that the 
girls should be taught, besides the com- 
mon school branches, knitting and mend- 
ing; that this controversy had led to 
quite a division among the population, a 
large portion insisting that the boys 
would be equally benefited by being 
taught housework and consequently they 
strenuously opposed any separation of the 
sexes in school work; that the matter 
was finally dropped and that the sexes 
were still vying with each other in the 
mastery of the rudiments of ah education 



[82] 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

without including any branches of house- 
work. 

Fred Lambert stated that he was 
brought up in Germany where the coedu- 
cation of the sexes was not tolerated but 
where the girls were taught some branches 
of housework in school. He presented 
himself as a true specimen of the result 
of that unwise separate teaching and as 
proof pointed to his coat, which for the 
want of a few stitches was rapidly return- 
ing to its original elements; to his vest, 
which, for the want of a few buttons, was 
held together by two wires, and to himself 
as a warning not to keep boys from learn- 
ing what the girls are taught; on the other 
hand he referred to his sister in Germany 
who could converse in four languages, but 
who was unable to drive a nail to save her 
soul, and whose attempt at sawing wood 
or fitting a board were so dangerous to 
her life and limb that his parents had 
never permitted her to handle tools like 



83 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



hammer and saw, claiming that they 
should be used by men and boys only. 

Lou Johnson smilingly remarked that 
he, too, had a sister, who had not only 
been taught by his parents to use hammer 
and saw, but who could use the oars, 
rudder and sails as well as he; that his 
parents and his teachers had insisted on 
giving the girls and boys the same 
chances to make a living, and that he was 
taught in school as well as at home to 
knit socks and darn them, to mend his 
clothes as well as to saw a board and to 
mend his boat; as proof he pointed to the 
right sleeve of his coat which he had 
mended by a patch that only a tailor's 
experienced eye could have detected. 
Lou was heartily applauded, even Mrs. 
Graham, to whom had been shown the 
patched sleeve, could not resist her 
approval. 

Ralph Bowdoin illustrated to what 
absurdity the principle of excluding 



[84] 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

women from men's work would lead, even 
in the matter of worshipping the Creator, 
by citing Christian denominations in 
whose churches the male portion of the 
congregation are compelled to be seated 
on one side of the church and the women 
on the other, apparently for fear that the 
united worship of the sexes might dis- 
please the Creator. 

The chairman now called attention to 
the fact that they had been, in their 
pleasant exchange of ideas, wandering 
far from the issue, which had been pre- 
sented by Mrs. Graham's refusal to 
become an active member of the club 
chiefly for the want of time to attend their 
meetings, intimating that the united 
brains of Europe and America should 
easily find a remedy for this evil and 
secure for them the pleasure of the 
ladies' presence at all future meetings. 

The chairman's timely point of order 
caused the allowance of a ten minutes' 

[85] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



intermission for the purpose of formulat- 
ing a resolution which would be accept- 
able and obviate all difficulties to a future 
full representation at their meetings. 
The girls were enthusiastic for joint 
meetings, while the mother refused to 
express her opinion. At the expiration of 
the ten minutes, the meeting was called 
to order and Paul Gerard proposed the 
following resolution: 

"Resolved, that all members of the 
club, irrespective of race, color, sex or 
previous condition of servitude, shall 
have the right and it shall be their duty 
to attend all meetings of this club and to 
have a voice in its deliberations ; and that 
all its members, under the direction of 
Mrs. Graham, shall be liable to perform, 
to the best of their ability, any household 
service which she might assign to any 
member." 

In support of his motion the young man 
reviewed the speeches that had been 



86 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

made upon the subject by the other mem- 
bers, and further claimed that it was the 
duty of the state, as well as of every 
citizen, to make every child as nearly 
independent as possible in order to resist 
the blows of fate that will come, sooner 
or later, alike to man and woman. 

Paul's speech was listened to with 
the utmost attention; it had evidently 
made a good impression upon Mrs. 
Graham, as her features seemed to indi- 
cate approval. 

Albert, whose conditional acceptance 
of the secretaryship had provoked this 
discussion, seconded Paul's motion and 
declared that the male portion of the 
club were united in their wish to aid the 
ladies in all household duties which they 
could possibly perform during the ap- 
proaching long evenings, and for that 
purpose he had been authorized to ask 
the lady whether she would accept such 
a difficult task for the benefit of the club. 

[87] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



As Albert withdrew, all eyes were 
directed on Mrs. Graham, who, with a 
visible effort, arose, addressed the chair- 
man, and then turning to Albert and his 
expectant friends, declared that under 
such circumstances she would withdraw 
her objections and accept the position; 
that she had listened with great pleasure 
and profit to the able arguments of her 
associates, and that as the beginning of 
her duties as instructor of domestic 
science, she would ask that every member 
carefully examine the meaning of the 
words "constancy" and ," persistency" 
and act in accordance therewith, she 
pledging a like action on her part. 

The lady's unexpected conversion and 
her parting shot caused a pleasant 
jollification and shaking of hands with 
the brave woman, who, contrary to cus- 
tom, had the courage to acknowledge her 
defeat. 

The resolution was then adopted, the 



[88] 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

appointment of the two officers, Albert 
and Mrs. Graham, made and approved, 
and the way cleared for a practical demon- 
stration of woman's rights within the 
narrow limits of the log house family. 

True to her word, Mrs. Graham, on 
the same evening, appointed as her 
assistants for one week the following 
persons : 

Fred Lambert and Ralph Bowdoin as 
potato peelers; Paul Gerard and Carl 
Kron as furnishers of firewood and kin- 
dling; Lou Johnson and Hugo Brenner 
as menders of the men's [clothing; Byron 
Burns and Paul Ivan as assistants on 
washday and carpet cleaning; John as 
the general provider and all-around assist- 
ant, and Albert as her private secretary, 
whose duty it was to keep a record of 
the different appointments and their suc- 
cessors in office. Every appointee was 
further subject to any extra labor that 
could not be classified in advance. 

[89] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



The lady appeared like a queen among 
her subjects; her cheeks were flushed 
with the excitement of the strange pro- 
ceedings; her eyes glowed with a fire that 
an intellectual victory only can kindle, 
and, as she bowed and took leave of her 
friends, her girls rushed to her, and 
embracing her, kissed her cheeks. 

When the door had closed upon the 
mother and daughters, John arose and 
with his voice trembling somewhat, said: 
" My young friends, may this scene never 
be blotted from your memory, may that 
mother's brave action be ever before you 
and compel you to worship and protect 
woman's virtue as you would protect 
the virtue of your own mother and 
sister!" 

The chairman's words sank deep into 
the hearts of these boys, whose own 
mothers were far away or who slept the 
last sleep. Even in the dense smoke of 
battle, in the hour when the death-angel 



90 



OLDEST QUESTION OF MANKIND 

hovered over them, the deserted mother 
and her daughters clinging to her, were 
not forgotten by any one of them. 

Before closing the meeting each mem- 
ber, upon the president's suggestion, gave 
a brief description of the method which 
had been pursued by his mother in 
conducting the household. Thus were 
all made acquainted with the simplest 
form of keeping a house as practiced by 
the peasants of Europe to the most 
refined in vogue among the aristocracy 
of England, Germany and Hungary. 



[91 



Chapter VII 

THE DANGER OF SYSTEM APPLIED TO LOVE 

THE new arrangement commenced 
with the next day; after less 
than a week all members were 
astonished how much quicker the house- 
hold work was accomplished, and how 
much more enjoyable each evening was 
spent, than before. All recognized that 
Mrs. Graham, by virtue of her systematic 
and kind government, was the mainspring 
of the new life that benefited all members 
and hurt no one, except the venders of 
whiskey and tobacco in^the village. 

Byron Burns was an expert in algebra, 
which science the girls were obliged to 
study in order to keep up with their 
classes in the village school. Albert 
knew nothing of that science, but being 
desirous of aiding the girls, whom he 
taught the advanced arithmetic, he acci- 



[92 



THE DANGER OF SYSTEM 



dentally ascertained Byron's proficiency 
in algebra, and drafted him into service 
for the benefit of his pupils. 

At a special meeting of the club, which 
was called upon Mrs. Graham's request, 
she spoke of the necessity of a time-table 
by which the different duties of the house- 
hold should be governed; for instance, 
such as the rising in the morning, the 
time to eat, the time to go to bed, the 
hours of study, recreations and of similar 
duties. She requested the chairman to 
appoint a committee of three to draft 
such a time-table and to present it 
at the next meeting. Her request was 
accepted as a motion and seconded by 
every member. The chairman appointed 
Mrs. Graham, Paul Gerard and Carl 
Kron and requested them to report 
the next evening. 

A reform in punctuality was needed. 
Each had a different time to rise, and only 
a few obeyed immediately the call for 



[93] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



breakfast. Even the calls for dinner and 
supper were not strictly obeyed, all of 
which caused a great deal of trouble and 
vexation to the women. 

The time-table and the provisions for 
its enforcement were duly presented at the 
next meeting. The necessity of its 
adoption was clearly and forcibly proved 
by Mrs. Graham, who compared the 
workings of a household to that of the 
planetary system ; demonstrating that the 
rising of the sun an hour later now and 
then, the occasional straying from its 
path by Jupiter or by any other planet, 
and the frequent sky-larking of the 
moon, would lead to similar disastrous 
results in the management of the plane- 
tary system as the irregularities of com- 
mencing the day's work and the uncertain 
hours of eating meals invariably cause 
in the management of a household. 

After the explosion of this bombshell 
the few late risers and the indifferent 



94 



THE DANGER OF SYSTEM 



attendants at meals were discouraged to 
move for any changes of time and 
reduction of fines which were attached to 
each violation. The law did pass and 
was afterwards sensibly enforced by the 
committee who had drafted it, and who 
had been authorized for that purpose by 
the club. 

During these internal revolutions of this 
cosmopolitan household, John and Albert 
worked and lived harmoniously together. 
Their decisions on disputable questions 
generally prevailed among the members. 
This relation between the boy of twenty 
and the man of thirty -five was remark- 
able; no lovers could have yearned for 
each other's company more ardently than 
they. 

This close friendship aroused no envy 
among the other members. On the con- 
trary, it aided them in their discussions 
and dealings among themselves to con- 
quer selfishness and national prejudices, 



[95 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and to find the pleasant medium which 
united so many persons of different 
nationalities and characters into one large 
and happy family. 

It was Sunday afternoon; John and 
Albert were, as usual, walking home 
together from church. The sun shone 
bright, no breeze was stirring and Nature 
in her silent glory seemed to pray. 
The two friends had listened to one of 
Rev. Gilbert's masterly sermons on the 
beauty of nature and on her soothing 
influence upon the human heart and 
human passions. In recalling the 
speaker's eloquent thoughts, and perhaps 
caused thereby, Albert asked John why 
he had left his home in the sunny South. 
John recognized the motive which 
prompted Albert's personal question and 
without hesitation complied with his 
friend's request as follows: 

"I am the youngest of three sons; I 
was born and brought up to manhood on 



[96 



THE DANGER OF SYSTEM 



a small plantation in Louisiana; we kept 
several slaves and treated them kindly, 
but we remained poor. The few dollars 
which we received for our surplus produce 
were insufficient to support us. The 
result was that my two older brothers left 
home before I was sixteen years old; 
after that my parents bestowed more 
care upon my education. I stayed at 
home until I was thirty. Our wealthy 
neighbor had but one child, Elma, a 
beautiful girl; she was attending school 
and subsequently college in a distant 
city, and was seldom at home for longer 
than a month. 

"We were perfect strangers until she 
was graduated, and, tired of schooling, 
remained at home. Her parents and 
mine were equally desirous to keep us 
with them; this mutual desire, unknown 
to us, led to an understanding between 
our parents that we should marry. Many 
opportunities were devised by them to 



[97] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



make us better acquainted with each 
other. Although she was ten years 
younger than I, her general education was 
equal, if not superior, to mine. Our 
conversation never lagged for the want 
of topics for discussion. In short, her 
beauty and attainments led to a declara- 
tion of love and to a proposal of marriage 
on my part. My proposal was accepted 
and our engagement was celebrated by 
the two families. Neither, however, had 
mentioned when the marriage should 
take place. Elated with the prospect of 
soon calling the beautiful girl my own, I 
spoke to our minister about solemnizing 
our marriage at the bride's home as soon 
as I could obtain her and her parents' 
consent to the exact time. 

"With all the impetuosity of youth and 
love, I hastened to Elma for approval. I 
shall never forget her look of surprise 
and her ringing laughter at the idea that 
she should be married at her home and 



[98 



THE DANGER OF SYSTEM 



not in church. When she had recovered 
from her surprise and I was in the act of 
leaving her, she told me for the first time 
that our parents had agreed that not 
only our marriage should be solemnized 
in church, but that all the relatives of 
both families and the public generally 
should be invited to the ceremony. She 
and my parents well knew of my abhor- 
rence of such public demonstrations; she 
was astonished that I had not been 
consulted on that matter. I was angry 
with my parents and with my betrothed 
for not having informed me of that com- 
pact. I told her so and she grew as angry 
as I was. She insisted that I knew, or 
should have known, of that agreement 
ever since our engagement. Thereupon 
we exchanged rings and with a polite 
bow I left her. 

" My parents, as a reason for withhold- 
ing from me so important a step, alleged 
that they had intended to tell me as 



[991 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



soon as I, in their estimation, had fallen 
so deeply in love with the girl that I 
would not have minded the change. I 
could not help laughing at the ingenuity 
with which the love of parents for their 
child had conducted the campaign, which, 
as my mother assured me, would have 
been successful if I had not been in such 
a hurry for the wedding day. 

"I kissed my mother for her loving care, 
shook hands with my old father, and 
bidding them good-bye, I left for the 
North. 

"A photograph, which was accidentally 
found in one of my books by some mem- 
ber of our present household, was Elma's 
likeness. I returned it to her without a 
word of explanation. This, Albert, has 
been my first love, and it will be my last." 

Albert pressed his friend's hand, and 
the two walked silently home as if they 
had been mourners at the funeral of 
that love. 



[100 



Chapter VIII 

THE CLUB'S MAIDEN EFFORT 

WHILE this world in miniature 
was slowly and understand- 
ingly becoming a pattern of 
peace and harmony, the other, larger 
world, "the home of the free," was 
trembling with the upheaval of the ques- 
tion of slavery. Abraham Lincoln, 
Nature's great son, whom she had taught 
in the pure atmosphere of her woods 
and rivulets the grandeur of herself, and 
who was inspired by the wisdom and love 
of his tutor to heal wounds, was 
nominated by the infant Republican 
party as its leader — Lucifer shuddered 
in his stronghold and Liberty com- 
menced weaving the victor's wreath. 

The billows of that struggle between 
slavery and liberty reached even as far 
as our friends' romantically located log 

[101] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



house. The words "state rights" and 
"secession" were sometimes mentioned 
during John and Albert's conversations, 
while returning from work, but neither 
anticipated any serious complications. 
Their intercourse was not marred in the 
least because John was an enthusiast for 
state rights and slavery while Albert 
favored a strong Union and the abolition 
of all serfdom. The care for their own 
existence and their deep-seated friendship 
suppressed any passionate outburst of 
feeling. 

Albert was exceedingly busy after work- 
ing hours in keeping the company's books 
and showing therein the account of each 
member. About that time the village 
school board was contemplating the erec- 
tion of a new substantial brick school- 
house in the spring, and for that purpose 
had received bids. The board was 
authorized to offer three prizes of fifteen, 
ten and five dollars each to the three 



[102] 



THE CLUB'S MAIDEN EFFORT 



persons of school age, living within the 
school district, who should, within a 
certain time, deposit with the secretary 
of the school board the most accurately 
written itemized estimate of the number 
of bricks it would require to build the new 
structure in accordance with the specifi- 
cations, of which copies would be handed 
free of charge to any contestant. 

Mr. Henry, the landlord, and his 
daughter, Agnes, called one evening on 
Mrs. Graham and her daughters, request- 
ing them to urge Albert to compete for 
one of the prizes. Mr. Henry, being a 
member of the school board, had heard of 
Albert's ability as a reliable arithmetician, 
and being acquainted with his financial 
condition, considered this step an ad- 
vantageous one for Albert and the school 
board. 

In the meantime the work of grading 
was pushed with great vigor and better 
results. The pleasant mental employ- 



[103 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



ment after working hours strengthened 
them for the manual labor on the next 
day. Two rainy days gave Albert an 
opportunity to post his books to date and 
to calculate the required number of bricks 
for the building of the new schoolhouse. 
He had asked the girls to compete for 
the prizes, offering his help, but they had 
emphatically declined. 

Having been brought up in a city that 
had been chiefly built of brick, Albert 
had learned in school the methods pur- 
sued in ascertaining the amount of brick 
contained in various buildings, some of 
which had been larger and more compli- 
cated than the proposed schoolhouse in 
question; therefore the present computa- 
tion was an easy task for him and took 
very little of his time. 

The enforcement of the fines in con- 
nection with the recently established 
time-tables experienced but one serious 
difficulty when Fred Lambert, who had 



[104] 



THE CLUB'S MAIDEN EFFORT 



been guilty of wilful tardiness at the 
breakfast table, demanded a jury trial 
in order to determine his guilt or inno- 
cence. All members agreed to try this 
new method of entertainment and re- 
solved to follow, as near as possible, the 
methods prescribed by law. 

On the evening of the trial every one 
seemed excited and even the dignified 
John, as the presiding judge, showed signs 
of uneasiness. Carl Kron, who had been 
appointed sheriff, nervously looked over 
the papers that had been handed him by 
the two attorneys, Paul Gerard for the 
defendant and Ralph Bowdoin for the 
state. At eight o'clock the court was 
opened by the sheriff. John, as the 
judge, occupied a chair which, together 
with a large dry goods box, served as the 
judge's stand. 

Upon the case of the state against 
Lambert being called for trial the sheriff 
presented the prisoner to the judge, who 



105] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



asked the prisoner whether he was rightly 
named and whether he wished an attorney 
to defend him; he answered both ques- 
tions in the affirmative. The court then 
announced that the defendant had 
pleaded not guilty to a certain charge 
and demanded a jury trial. Whereupon 
the court ordered the sheriff to call a 
jury. In compliance therewith Sheriff 
Kron drew from his pocket a paper and 
read the names of Mrs. Graham, Albert 
Burdett, Mary Graham, Lou Johnson, 
Lucy Graham and Byron Burns. These 
persons named were sworn and seated, 
after which the trial commenced. 

The first witness for the state was 
Carl Kron, who testified that the defend- 
ant and he were and had been for 
months, bedfellows; that on the day 
when the crime was committed he heard 
the morning bell for rising; that he arose 
and dressed and insisted that the prisoner 
should do likewise. Further proceedings 



[106 



THE CLUB S MAIDEN EFFORT 

were interrupted by Paul Gerard an- 
nouncing to the court that his client 
confessed having been late that morning 
owing to the fact that he had been kept 
awake during the greater part of the 
night by the witness's snoring. At this 
unexpected turn of the case great conster- 
nation prevailed in the court room; 
the facts were admitted, since all knew 
of Carl's accomplishment, which, on one 
night, had alarmed the entire household 
in the belief that the Indians had sur- 
rounded the house and were giving their 
war-cry before an attack. 

The presiding officer, at length, decided 
that evidence should be taken as to the 
degree of noise caused by the witness's 
snoring, after which the attorneys should 
address the jury on the question whether 
the prisoner's excuse under the evidence 
was strong enough to override a clearly 
established violation of the law. Peter 
Ivan and Hugo Brenner were called as 

[107] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



witnesses, one for each side, whose testi- 
mony as to the loudness of that snoring 
and its effect, was very conflicting. 

The witty and able speeches to the 
jury frequently convulsed the hearers 
with laughter; Ralph cited instances of 
soldiers having been shot as punishment 
for falling asleep while on picket duty, 
and that the crime of permitting disorder 
to creep into a household was just as 
dangerous and should be punished to the 
fullest extent of the law. 

Paul Gerard, on the other hand, proved 
by many illustrations that the snoring 
of a bedfellow like Carl was worse than 
trying to sleep in the midst of a firing 
battery, and that his client's falling asleep 
again after he had risen, was clearly an 
act of God and therefore not punishable 
by man. After completion of the argu- 
ments the judge instructed the jury, 
cautioning them not to be swayed by 
the eloquence of the attorneys, but to 



[108] 



THE CLUB'S MAIDEN EFFORT 



decide the case from the evidence alone. 
The jury then retired under the guidance 
of the sheriff, who had been instructed 
to lock them up in a safe place and keep 
them there on bread and water until they 
had agreed upon a verdict. When the 
sheriff left the court room with the jury 
he felt as if he were the prisoner, and Fred 
the innocent victim. 

The jury returned in a very short time; 
upon the judge's question whether they 
had agreed upon a verdict, Mrs. Graham, 
as the jury's foreman, announced that 
the jury, by an unanimous vote, found 
the defendant guilty, but that his fine 
should be paid by the sheriff. This 
verdict capped the climax of the evening's 
sport. Before Paul had a chance to ask 
for an acquittal of the prisoner by virtue 
of this decision, the judge ordered the 
jury to reconsider the case and bring in 
a verdict of either guilty or not guilty, 
although he admitted that their verdict 



[109] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



was not worse than many verdicts that 
had been rendered by twelve men under 
the instructions of a real judge. As 
the jury were in the act of leaving, Carl 
Kron stepped up and paid the fine and 
assumed all guilt. Thereupon Fred pro- 
posed to give three cheers for the model 
sheriff of the Log House Club, which 
were readily given and peace was restored 
upon the solid foundation of friendship 
and good will. 



[110 



Chapter IX 

THE TEST OF THE GOLDEN RULE 

THE novelty of the entertainment 
and the peculiar charm of debate 
and exchange of ideas among 
educated persons, led to a united desire 
to present debatable questions of principle 
or fact to disinterested judges, and con- 
sequently to a repetition of the evening's 
exercises. 

The experience of these young men in 
forming a household among themselves 
led to many strange revelations. They 
were all imbued with an honest desire for 
a peaceful and harmonious way of living 
together. Being educated, they had 
naturally, among themselves, many con- 
versations and debates on that topic, 
recognizing the extreme difficulty of har- 
monizing the habits of each with the 
habits of the others. The one was orderly 

[mi 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and the other disorderly; the one desired 
to go "early to bed and early to rise" 
and the other had the habit of keeping late 
hours of day and night; the one liked 
to smoke, the other hated the sight of it; 
the one chewed tobacco, the other sick- 
ened at the sight; the one kept himself 
scrupulously clean, the other was careless 
in that respect. In [fact, they expe- 
rienced the same difficulties that some 
lovers do after marriage. Before the 
final knot was tied they would willingly 
have died for each other, but afterwards, 
when all these little habits cropped out 
and demanded curtailing, if not extermi- 
nation, these same lovers were sometimes 
sorry that their partner's ante-nuptial 
desire of dying had not been carried out. 
This condition of affairs led to a deter- 
mination on the part of the members to 
discuss at the next meeting some topic 
which might throw light on this difficult 
question of home life. Consequently, 



[112] 



THE TEST OF THE GOLDEN RULE 

Albert the American, Byron the English- 
man, and Fred the German, were ap- 
pointed to draft a resolution on that 
question and have it presented at the 
next meeting. They produced the fol- 
lowing: 

"Resolved, that no member of a house- 
hold shall exercise a habit within the 
jurisdiction of the family that he would 
disapprove if all the other members 
should exercise the same habit." 

At supper the resolution was enthusias- 
tically accepted. Upon John's suggestion 
three judges were appointed, Rev. Gilbert, 
a superannuated minister residing in the 
village; Mr. Henry, the landlord; and 
Mr. Carney, a young teacher from the city. 

Great preparations were made for the 
meeting, which was to be held on the next 
Thursday evening. The speeches were 
not to exceed ten minutes each, and 
every member was compelled to con- 
tribute. 

■ 

8 [H3] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



On the appointed evening the boys 
stopped work one hour sooner than usual. 
After supper the dining-room was put in 
perfect order. The judges arrived at 
seven thirty o'clock; John called the 
meeting to order and introduced the 
resolution with a few remarks in which he 
emphasized its importance and declared 
that, if the resolution could be carried 
out, it would revolutionize every house- 
hold in the land. The authors of the 
resolution were then asked to take the 
affirmative, to which they readily agreed. 
They ably argued the necessity of a 
reform in the conduct of a household, 
illustrating their points by many facts 
which could not be disputed, whereas 
the other male members, while approving 
a great deal of what was said, pronounced 
the enforcement of the resolution an 
impossible task, as equally impossible 
to enforce as the "Golden Rule," its 
twin sister, enacted about two thousand 



[114 



THE TEST OF THE GOLDEN RULE 

years ago, taught by innumerable teach- 
ers, churchmen and laymen, and which 
is still almost a dead letter to-day. 

Every one felt that the decision was 
trembling in the balance and the interest 
in the final outcome grew stronger with 
every argument. 

Mrs. Graham and her daughters were 
now called. Lucy and Mary, in a few 
words, informed the chairman that they 
had appointed their mother to speak 
for them, and that they would stand by 
their mother's opinion. The girls were 
applauded and the call for Mrs. Graham 
was repeated, She obeyed, and as she 
approached the judges, her face was a 
shade paler than usual and her voice 
slightly faltering in the beginning; but 
as soon as she had touched the first 
principle underlying the resolution, she 
grew enthusiastic and entirely forgot 
self in the great subject which she was 
about to dissect for the purpose of proving 



115 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



its merits. She was emphatically in favor 
of the resolution. In support of her views 
she gave a brief history of the condition 
of her household as it existed prior to 
her appointment as a committee for 
directing a division of labor, and of the 
gratifying results of its observance. She 
stated that during the brief trial of carry- 
ing out the former resolution the boys 
and girls had become more orderly; 
that no time had been lost in looking for 
misplaced articles; that greater care 
had been taken in leaving the mud 
outside where it belonged; in hiding 
the revolting habit of chewing gum or 
tobacco, or abstaining from those habits 
altogether; of keeping the smoke of 
tobacco from the living-room; of enjoying 
more time for recreation and study, and 
of doing many other kind acts, which had 
the tendency of lessening labor and 
increasing happiness in the family circle. 
Mrs. Graham admitted that the resolu- 



[116 



THE TEST OF THE GOLDEN RULE 

tion was a subdivision of the Golden 
Rule; she claimed, however, that the 
former was far easier obeyed than the 
latter for the reason that the resolution 
applied to the members of a family only, 
whereas the Golden Rule applied to all 
mankind. In conclusion she asserted that 
the Golden Rule had been in their house- 
hold a living power from which had flown 
so much happiness and faith in the nobil- 
ity of mankind, that she dreaded to think 
of the future when the source of all that 
happiness would cease, and the ties that 
bind them now would be severed. 

At this instant she paused a moment. 
The stillness of the grave prevailed, while 
the blowing of the wind without sounded 
like the nation's wail over an approaching 
calamity. 

"Honorable Judges," she continued 
with a visible effort to control her voice, 
"should this resolution pass and be acted 
upon in every family it would not do 

[117] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



away with all misery; there would still 
be many families in which drinking, smok- 
ing, scolding, swearing and kindred vices 
would be practiced, but the discussion 
in each family on the resolution would 
cause untold good and prove a blessing." 

The speaker retired amidst applause in 
which the judges joined. In rendering 
their decision in favor of the affirmative, 
Rev. Gilbert approved the judges' ap- 
plauding, by confessing that the spirit 
of union had been so vividly impressed 
upon them by Mrs. Graham that they 
were compelled to apply it to their 
decision as a board, although it had been 
expected that at least one dissenting vote 
would be cast. 

Thereupon the landlord arose and com- 
plimented the minister for having men- 
tioned the one "expected dissenting 
vote." He further acknowledged that he 
loved to smoke and drink, and, but for 
Mrs. Graham's reference to facts which 



[118 



THE TEST OF THE GOLDEN RULE 

had occurred within the log house family, 
he should have cast a dissenting vote. 
He insisted that his habits of smoking 
and drinking did not hinder him from 
presenting the resolution to his family 
and if they were as willing as he was to 
surrender some of their distasteful habits 
for the common good, he might, even at 
his advanced age, stop smoking and 
drinking. The jovial landlord also re- 
ceived a hearty applause from the audi- 
ence and a good hand-shaking from the 
minister. 

Mr. Carney, the teacher, recommended 
passing a law compelling every minister 
to preach at least fifty sermons each year 
on the topic under discussion, citing facts 
and illustrations to be taken from life's 
inexhaustible supply, as Mrs. Graham 
had done, and letting the idealistic 
heaven, with its hair-splitting issues, 
which are, as a rule, based upon mere 
trifles, take care of itself, while endeavor- 

[119] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



ing to build a heaven in each family here 
below. 

The social time following the close of 
the exercises was the reflection of the 
heaven that each had resolved to build 
within the temple of his future home. 
When through the remarkable stillness 
of the hour the guests heard the tolling 
of the midnight bell in the distant city, 
they at once made preparations to leave 
and instinctively turned to Rev. Gilbert 
for a benediction. 

"No, my friends," exclaimed the rev- 
erend gentleman, "the utterances of 
thanks from human lips, after such a 
feast of reason and in such a majestic 
splendor of the night, would sound like 
mockery." 

The myriads of worlds in the milky- 
way accepted the tribute with becoming 
modesty. 



[120 



Chapter X 

THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES 

PRIOR to the events stated in the 
last chapter, a few of the members 
had habitually gone to the village 
bar-room after supper to kill time and 
enjoy a smoke, although the log house 
contained a special room for smoking. 
The recent agitation of woman's rights 
and the sensible action of the women of 
joining in the deliberation of that im- 
portant question, led to the sudden change 
of keeping all members at home that 
they might participate in the evening's 
pastimes, instead of inhaling the smoke- 
laden atmosphere of the village bar-room 
and listening to the coarse jokes of still 
coarser men. Elated with the exercises 
at home and ashamed to steal away 
from them for the sake of yielding to 
injurious habits, they were soon convinced 

[121] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



that the easiest way to rid themselves of 
all trouble caused by the interruption of 
habits which they themselves denounced 
as undesirable, was to drop them entirely. 

Especially invited by Rev. Gilbert, who 
preached on every other Sunday morning 
in the village schoolhouse, the club 
decided to attend church in a body on the 
next Sunday. 

The aged minister had heard of the 
remarkable effects of the workings of the 
club upon the young persons. Fully 
recognizing the power of such educating 
forces without harboring the egotistical 
dogmas of some of his brethren, he had 
invited the club, as his co-laborers in the 
spiritual world, to attend his church. 
In conversation with John and Albert, he 
maintained that such intellectual pleas- 
ures as they practiced were indispensable 
to a full enjoyment of life, and were a 
sure preventive on the part of the 
young from acquiring the "bad habits" 



[122] 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES 

of life, which, he insisted, were in reality 
sins that undermine health, waste time, 
weaken manhood, cause poverty and lead 
to premature old age and death. Such 
was also the tenor of his sermon which he 
delivered on the next Sabbath after the 
little cracked school bell had rung the 
third time and the choir had sung two 
hymns, the melodies of which proved that 
a master mind had composed the music 
and that a master mind had selected 
them to be sung on that occasion. The 
congregation was large, a great many 
farmers attended, and the room was 
filled when our friends entered. 

The speaker's venerable appearance, 
his gray hair and bright eyes, formed a 
strange but pleasing contrast; his voice 
was weak yet clear and could be heard 
and understood in the farthest part of 
the room; he shunned all hackneyed 
phrases behind which mediocrity in the 
pulpit generally hides itself, and he 

[1£3] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



repeatedly cited apt illustrations as his 
predecessor in Judea had done about two 
thousand years before, until bigotry, 
mixed with hatred and stupidity, had 
nailed Him to the cross. Among other 
illustrations he skillfully pictured the 
mental revolutions within the Log House 
Club without naming it, the rapid prog- 
ress of its members and their enhanced 
pleasures of life by virtue thereof. 

Pleased with this public recognition 
by the esteemed pastor, each member 
strove harder to merit the praise. Mary 
and Lucy Graham, under their mother's 
guidance and under the tutorship of 
Albert and Byron, were constantly ad- 
vancing in the art of housekeeping and 
mathematics, much to the delight of 
Albert and Byron, who in addition found 
time to instruct the girls in all the other 
common branches which were required to 
be taught in the common schools. 

Albert had submitted his estimate of 



[124 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES 

the material for the new schoolhouse and 
was notified that at the next meeting of 
the school board the contest would be 
decided and that the presence of all the 
contestants was desired. This news 
caused quite an excitement among 
Albert's friends, who esteemed the young 
man's uncompromising honesty and his 
ever cheerful temper and helping hand. 

On the evening of the meeting the entire 
club attended. Albert's natural modesty 
and his dread of appearing to parade his 
attainments caused him at first to decide 
to stay at home; but this was not per- 
mitted. His friends knew that a public 
recognition of his work in his presence 
would be to him more in the nature of a 
punishment than a reward. "Duty calls 
you," said John. " Take courage, Albert !" 
added Mrs. Graham, whose kind voice 
convinced him that his motives in refusing 
to go had been fully understood. 

The president of the school board 

[125] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



opened the meeting by the introduction 
of Mr. H., a celebrated architect from 
the city, who expressed his pleasure at 
observing the interest taken by the 
village in the new schoolhouse, and stated 
that he had been called to examine the 
estimates which had been submitted, and 
that, with the aid of the school board 
and the two teachers of the village school, 
he had carefully examined each estimate 
and that the following named persons 
were entitled to the prizes in the order 
named: 

"Albert Burdett, Hugh Perrin and 
Grace Simms." He further remarked 
that Albert's computation was even more 
precise than the one made by the former 
architect. 

The president thereupon distributed 
the prizes and the audience cheered. 
Order being restored, Albert arose and 
thanked the school board and the archi- 
tect for the decision and added that he, 



[126 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES 

as a friend of the public schools which 
had taught him to solve the computation 
so readily, would donate the prize just 
received toward a fund for the betterment 
of teachers' salaries within the district. 

This unexpected donation, uttered with 
a firmness of voice and action that 
disarmed any remonstrance, made Albert 
with one accord, besides the "Hero of 
the Cabin" the "Hero of the School." 
The public recognition that Albert had 
dreaded was bestowed on him so spon- 
taneously and heartily, and in such 
quantities, that Mrs. Graham half con- 
solingly and half mischievously pressed 
his hand, and her daughter, Mary, 
exclaimed, "Poor Albert." 

What signified Mary's sympathetic 
voice and the flames darting from her 
deep blue eyes as she gazed on Albert's 
radiant face? What made him involun- 
tarily shrink from her as he would from 
a person with an infectious disease, 

[127] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



when she pressed his hand as her mother 
had done? The orphaned boy, reared 
in the school of care, whose young 
shoulders had borne the brunt of battle 
for the existence of a family, knew 
nothing of the love which, with the 
rapidity of lightning and with the force 
of an avalanche, captures its victim for 
good or for evil, for a heaven on earth 
or for a grave in its bosom. 

On the next morning at breakfast, 
John related that news had been received 
the evening before that, at the fight which 
had taken place in the cabin on the 
evening that Albert had left it, one of 
the combatants had received a wound 
of which he had died, and that the 
murderer had been arrested. 

Mrs. Graham's remark that "the wages 
of sin is death" was probably never more 
forcibly illustrated before these young 
men than it was on that morning when 
they were still rejoicing at Albert's 



[128] 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES 

self-denial of the previous evening, and 
at the same time heard, as a striking 
contrast, of the murderer's arrest as a 
part payment of his sin meted out by the 
unfailing Nemesis. 

One of Albert's duties as secretary 
was to take a preliminary survey of the 
work of grading that had been done 
since he arrived. This survey showed 
a considerable proportional gain over 
that done during any of the preceding 
periods; nor was Albert's measurement 
of the work questioned by the railroad 
company, whose president and secretary, 
after being informed of the strange 
movement of reform among the members 
of the club, attributed the large increase 
of completed work to the increased 
strength of each individual as a natural 
consequence of that reform, and notified 
the club of this conclusion in a neat 
note when the contract price was paid. 

When pay day came John and Albert, 

9 [180] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



furthermore, made the division of the 
money among the members, with the 
help of the completed books, within an 
exceedingly short time to the satisfaction 
of all concerned. 

Discussing this agreeable change on 
pay day, Byron Burns, the ex-secretary, 
remarked that if death is the wages of 
sin, then more money is the wages of a 
better system of bookkeeping. For this 
indirect acknowledgment of his own fail- 
ing as the former secretary, he received 
his comrades' warm congratulations, 
although they well knew that the in- 
creased pay had come from increased 
work only. 



130 



Chapter XI 

SECESSION AND UNION 

THE political agitation at that time 
became more and more acute in 
the same ratio as the intention 
of the South to secede from the North 
became more and more apparent. The 
effect upon the club was also marked, and 
the discussions on that subject were 
slightly tinged with the acrimony of the 
slaveholders and their friends. 

Under these conditions the club decided 
to submit the question of state rights and 
the right of secession to the unprejudiced 
members, who were Mrs. Graham and 
her daughters, Carl Kron, Hugo Brenner 
and Lou Johnson, none having expressed 
an opinion on that point, nor had they 
taken any part in its discussion. 

On the evening set for the debate the 
club was still evenly divided, the unpreju- 

[131] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



diced members had not given the matter 
any consideration at all, while the other 
six had carefully prepared for the defense 
of their sides on this all-absorbing ques- 
tion. 

It was now October, 1860; three 
candidates for President were in the 
field, and John Brown's spirit was moving 
onward and demanded abolition of slaves. 
Abraham Lincoln's convincing arguments 
through which shone his unbiased patriot- 
ism and love of man, made converts 
every day for the ideal of liberty; while 
in the background stood the grinning 
skeleton "War," fanning the passion of 
man into a whirlwind of hatred; making 
brother curse brother and severing ties 
between father and son, and between 
mother and child. 

Over the young nation hung a shroud 
ready to smother the aspirations of 
equal rights, and bury the republic as 
other republics had been buried before. 



[132] 



SECESSION AND UNION 



Several citizens from the village had 
asked permission to attend the debate, 
which had been readily granted. Albert's 
strange but noble action of presenting the 
prize money to the teachers' fund had 
caused several of its citizens to subscribe 
also, and on the preceding evening the 
school board had accepted the entire sum 
and safely invested it at a good rate of 
interest. 

At eight o'clock in the evening Rev. 
Gilbert, who was the presiding officer at 
the meeting, opened the exercises with a 
few fitting remarks and stated the pend- 
ing resolution, namely: "Resolved, that 
the constitution of the United States 
prohibits the seceding of any of its states." 

The arguments were brief, therefore 
to the point and interesting, and were 
listened to with close attention. Each 
side tried to bend the written word of 
the constitution in order to prove that 
his version of it was the right one. 



[133] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Albert's closing speech carried the day 
when he pointed to Europe, a country 
about the size of the United States, with 
its many independent governments and 
its many wars which necessitated the 
creation of large standing armies at a 
fearful expense and loss of labor. He 
especially pointed to Germany's condition 
before and during the "Thirty Years' 
War;" to her fifty or more independent 
states at that time and to the consequent 
warfare among themselves, which in the 
seventeenth century led almost to her 
entire destruction. 

The speaker then pictured what the 
probable results would be if each state 
were permitted to secede; the many 
controversies among states which might 
easily lead to war, such as the restricting 
of commerce between the states; of 
border line disputes; of slavery; of 
criminals committing crimes in one state 
and escaping into the other; of the coin- 



[134] 



SECESSION AND UNION 



age of money; of the tariff and of many 
other causes that would be sowing the 
seeds of the horrors of future battle-fields, 
as Europe has been doing since it was 
entered by the white race. 

The decision was unanimously in favor 
of the affirmative; even John, the lover 
of the South and its institutions, admit- 
ted to Rev. Gilbert that a multiplicity 
of governments within the limits of the 
United States might easily lead to the 
results described by Albert. 



[135 



Chapter XII 

CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS AND THE 
LULL BEFORE THE STORM 

IN November, I860, Lincoln was 
elected President of the United 
States. The want of unity in the 
Democratic ranks which led to the placing 
of two Democratic candidates for the 
presidency in the field, had caused that 
party's defeat. John accepted the situa- 
tion with a dignified reserve and compli- 
mented Albert upon the acquisition of 
another illustration proving the fatal 
results of disunion, while Albert, grieved 
his friend's defeat, pressed his hand. 

Winter was approaching rapidly. On 
several mornings his outpost, King Frost, 
had taken possession of the grading and 
kept the members of the club from 
working and made them fear of losing 
the ten per cent, of the earnings which 

[ 136 ] 



CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS 

had been kept back by the railroad 
company. 

In order to keep all hands employed 
during the cold spell they made prepara- 
tions to chop the five hundred cords of 
wood for which the railroad company 
had agreed to make monthly payments. 
Axes were purchased 3 an old grindstone, 
which had been left by the former owner 
of the house, was placed upon a frame, 
several young hickory trees were chopped 
down and made into axe handles. In 
fact, everything was prepared to meet 
King Frost and still live comfortably. 

iUbert's financial condition was con- 
siderably improved by his additional 
monthly salary of ten dollars. Still he, 
with the rest of the club, needed the ten 
per cent., hence they hailed with delight 
a change of weather that enabled them 
to complete their contract on the day 
before a terrific snow storm put an end 
to all further grading during that winter. 

[137] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Grateful for their good luck, although 
only hard work had forced success, they 
decided to celebrate the approaching 
Christmas in royal style. Their winter's 
work secured, their evening's entertain- 
ments and their Sundays became more 
interesting as the members became more 
proficient in their English and more 
patient in their respective defeats during 
the many mental tournaments through 
which they passed. The foreigners 
among them seized every opportunity of 
learning English and the Americans were 
equally eager to learn European condi- 
tions and languages. 

There was a lull in the affairs of the 
Union and patriots were hopeful, if not 
confident, that the genial, warm-hearted 
and wise Lincoln would find ways and 
means of keeping the Union together. 
No one in the North anticipated that the 
final removal of slavery was so close at 
hand, nor that its removal would require 



[138 



CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS 

the sword; and no member of the club 
had the least reason for calling this 
profound ebb of political excitement the 
lull before the storm. 

At a meeting of the club the matter of 
celebrating Christmas was thoroughly 
discussed. Opinions differed widely; but 
after Fred's vivid description of the 
German way, that method was chosen, 
and a committee of three was appointed, 
of which Fred was chairman, to attend 
to the preparation of a Christmas tree. 
The adjoining woods furnished a tree and 
the distant city furnished the candles, 
trimmings and presents necessary to carry 
out the plan. During the week before 
Christmas every member acted myste- 
riously, while endeavoring to hide the 
presents that were to be a surprise on 
Christmas. The girls were busy with 
needlework and seemed to work day and 
night; even Mrs. Graham, usually ex- 
tremely sedate, entered into the spirit of 

[139] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



joyful expectancy and had cheering words 
for all. 

This spirit of cheer and good will was 
even noticed by Carlo, the girls' faithful 
dog, their protector on errands to the 
village and in rambles through the woods. 
He had hitherto kept a respectful distance 
from Mrs. Graham and the men, but, 
attracted by their changed looks and 
kinder voices, he dropped the memory of 
former unpleasantness, and became a 
member of the cheerful circle. 

On Christmas eve the committee com- 
pleted the beautifying of the tree that 
had been placed upon a small table in 
the corner of the dining-room. A hundred 
candles were fastened to its branches; 
gold and silver trimmings shone through 
its dark green foliage, while from every 
part of the tree rosy -cheeked apples and 
gilded nuts promised future reward. 

It was almost midnight; the members 
had long since returned from the festivi- 



140 



CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS 

ties in the village, when Fred cast a last 
searching glance over the result of his 
memory and his artistic skill. A spark of 
the bliss which the Creator must have 
felt at beholding His own handiwork, this 
beautiful world, swept over Fred and per- 
chance consoled also a longing mother 
in the old world. 

It had been agreed to celebrate the 
home festivities on the evening of Christ- 
mas day. Such an arrangement enabled 
the club to attend the exercises in the 
village on Christmas eve and on the 
following morning listen to Rev. Gilbert's 
sermon. After a late dinner on Christ- 
mas, while twilight was setting in and 
Rev. Gilbert and his grandchild, Agnes, 
were visiting with Mrs. Graham and her 
daughters, the committee lighted the 
candles, removed the concealing curtains 
and extinguished all other lights. In 
the glare of the candles, the three girls, 
Agnes, Mary and Lucy, sang a beautiful 

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THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Christmas anthem; then John announced 
that Santa Claus had left the presents 
around the tree as he had done in other 
homes for more than two thousand years. 
John and Lucy then distributed these 
tokens of love and friendship. The 
thanks which were uttered to the 
unknown givers sounded like another 
anthem to the spirit of joy and love. The 
crowning event was the presentation by 
John of a securely wrapped choice piece 
of meat to his new friend, Carlo. The 
dog was now a favorite of all; he had 
wonderingly observed the excitement of 
his friends, evidently failing to com- 
prehend the cause of their strange 
behavior, but as soon as John handed 
him the package, he removed the paper 
with one stroke of his sharp teeth, put 
one paw upon the meat and with uplifted 
head gave such a bark of joy and satis- 
faction that every one broke into a 
spontaneous outburst of merriment and 



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CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS 

wonder, which afforded Carlo sufficient 
time to swallow his present and then join 
the company's mirth. 

Rev. Gilbert's parting words at the 
close of the festival were as beautiful 
as they were true. Thanking his friends 
for the appropriate gift which he had 
received from them, a long wished for 
book, he asserted that a universal cele- 
bration of Christmas in the spirit and 
manner in which it had been celebrated 
by them, would make wars impossible. 
That such messages of peace and love 
would disarm hatred, envy and greed, 
and tend to establish in both giver and 
recipient, a habit of expressing more 
often in words and deeds the love and 
kindness we harbor for each other, and 
thus pave the way for charity to aid us 
in molding our judgments and for love to 
make us forget and forgive. 

The work of chopping wood continued 
with renewed vigor after the holidays. 

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THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Every member of this little ideal republic 
felt the steady growth of hand and brain. 
They were expecting to enter new lines 
of employment in the spring. Mary 
intended to teach, Lucy to attend school ; 
Albert had accepted an offer from the 
village school board as assistant teacher; 
Fred was to teach French and German 
in a southern college; Carl Kron, Hugo 
Brenner and Lou Johnson were to go 
further west and pre-empt large tracts 
of land within a short distance of a thriv- 
ing village; Byron Burns expected a 
professorship in algebra as soon as the 
political excitement abated; Ralph Bow- 
doin and Paul Gerard were determined 
to continue their law studies and enter 
an office for that purpose; John desired 
to return to his parents in Louisiana, and 
Paul Ivan, an expert on the violin, 
intended to go to California, and there 
practice his art at better pay. 



[144] 



Chapter XIII 

THE MURDER TRIAL 

ON Monday of the second week of 
the new year Albert was sub- 
poenaed to attend the district 
court on the next day and testify as a 
witness for the state in a criminal proceed- 
ing against Riley who had been indicted 
for murder and whose trial would be had 
on that day. This event came as unex- 
pected as a stroke of lightning on a 
cloudless day, and caused a considerable 
agitation among our friends. At the 
meeting which was held that evening and 
which Carlo found a way to attend in 
the hope of a repetition of his surprise 
on Christmas, it was decided that all 
members, excepting Mrs. Graham and 
Carlo, should attend the trial, and that 
a conveyance should be engaged at the 
expense of the club. 



10 



145 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



On Tuesday morning, long before day- 
light, the eleven members, comfortably 
seated in a sleigh partly filled with hay, 
left their home. Mrs. Graham shouted a 
good-bye and Carlo, securely fastened in 
the wood-house, howled so dismally that 
both girls begged that the dog might be 
allowed to go with them. Their wish 
would have been granted had the distance 
not been so great and Mrs. Graham had 
not been left alone. 

Arrived at the county seat Albert 
reported at once to the prosecuting attor- 
ney who questioned him about the affair 
in the Irish cabin on the evening he had 
left it so suddenly. During this examina- 
tion Albert learned to his sorrow that the 
murdered man had been the Irish boss 
who had come to his rescue. At ten 
o'clock in the forenoon a jury was called. 
The court room was by this time com- 
pletely filled since the case had attracted 
a good deal of attention. The presence 



[146] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



of the "Log House Club," which the local 
press at the county seat had frequently 
mentioned and of which Albert was known 
to be a member and the main witness in 
the present case, had aroused a great 
deal of interest among the population. 
Albert's unselfish deed of returning to 
the school board the well earned prize 
had also been published and commented 
upon by the same paper and had created 
among its readers a desire to see and hear 
the boy who, in their opinion, was either 
a crank or else the possessor of material 
from which heroes are made. 

The selection, examination and final 
acceptance of the jury occupied the entire 
forenoon. The defendant's attorney, a 
slim, keen-witted, middle-aged man, suc- 
ceeded several times in having jurors 
rejected whose answers to the questions 
propounded by the state's attorney as 
to their qualifications, seemed to indicate 
a prejudice against the accused. The 



[147 



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proceedings during the entire forenoon 
proved of great interest to Albert and 
his friends, nearly all of whom had been 
acting as jurors during the different 
trials by the club. Their conversation 
at dinner was very animated and in the 
nature of a trial of the two opposing 
attorneys, pronouncing the state's attor- 
ney to be a gentleman and denouncing 
the defendant's attorney as a member of 
the opposite class. 

The afternoon session commenced with 
a brief address to the jury by the state's 
attorney, in which he stated the cir- 
cumstances that led to the murder; 
the defendant's attorney followed, ad- 
dressing the jury by stating facts, which, 
if proved, would establish the plea of 
self-defense and liberate the defendant. 

Albert was the first witness on behalf 
of the state; the presiding judge, an 
elderly gentleman whose wrinkled face 
resembled a battle-field, administered the 



148 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



oath, and the taking of the testimony 
began. 

An almost oppressive silence prevailed 
in the court room when Albert testified; 
one could with ease have heard the pro- 
verbial pin drop. His testimony, which 
no earthly power could have changed, 
related to what we already know, ending 
with the description of defendant's atti- 
tude as he, with the uplifted jug, struck 
at the witness's head, but failed of its 
mark. 

The defendant's attorney now began 
the cross-examination. Albert was com- 
pelled to give almost a complete biog- 
raphy of himself, the reasons for his 
coming West, for seeking an employment 
to which he was not accustomed, for 
engaging himself with a company of rail- 
road men whose universal custom was 
and had been, as he and every one else 
knew, to use liquor habitually. Albert's 
answers to all the cross-questions were 



[149] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



promptly and unhesitatingly given. His 
friends rejoiced at his able way of grasp- 
ing and counteracting the many questions 
that had been asked for the very purpose 
of misleading the witness. 

At last, the defendant's attorney, in his 
most friendly tone, resembling a cat's 
purring before she swallows the captured 
mouse, asked the following question: 

"You have admitted that the defend- 
ant on that evening had been drinking 
heavily; that he had been acting like a 
drunken man; that he had been asking 
you to drink with him and upon your 
refusal to drink asked you to tell him the 
reason for your refusal, and that you had 
been sleepy and insisted upon going to 
bed. Now, explain to the court and jury 
why you did not either comply with his 
request to drink, no matter how much or 
how little, or else tell him the reason for 
your strange actions and thus end the 
unpleasant situation." 



150] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



Albert hesitated as he had done on that 
fatal evening; the defense was jubilant; 
the state's attorney objected to the ques- 
tion for several reasons, all of which were 
attacked by the defense and branded as 
a shield for perjury. The judge, after 
reflection, decided that, under the peculiar 
circumstances, the witness must answer, 
and overruled the state's objections to 
the question. The defendant's attorney 
could not suppress a broad smile of satis- 
faction while the prosecutor was cor- 
respondingly depressed. Albert looked 
imploringly at the judge and asked, 
"Must I answer that question?" 
"You must," replied the judge in a 
wavering voice, while the wrinkles in 
his intellectual face seemed to fight 
another battle. Albert turned his eyes 
from the judge and with a visible effort 
faced the jury. The painful silence in 
the court room seemed to be the fore- 
boding of some approaching evil and 



151 



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everyone felt that the life or death of one 
human being depended upon the coming 
answer, since none but Albert could give 
testimony to defeat the plea of self- 
defense. 

Slowly and distinctly Albert answered; 
he told of his father's unbridled passion 
for strong drink; how his mother had 
suffered as a result, as long as he could 
remember; of his father's death; of his 
mother's poverty; of her broken health 
and of her death; that she, during her 
last moments, made him promise that 
he would never taste a drop of liquor 
knowingly, whereupon she had kissed him 
and then dropped dead in his arms. The 
memory of that scene brought tears to 
his eyes and he paused a moment. 
Mothers in the audience wept like chil- 
dren. The simplicity with which the 
tragedy was told convinced every hearer 
of its truthfulness. Albert further told 
the jury that on the night in the cabin 



[152] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



a higher power seemed to have prevented 
him from mentioning in such company 
the promise he had made to his dying 
mother, and that he had preferred to act 
the coward's part and flee rather than 
to soil her memory. 

The defendant's attorney moved to 
strike the answer from the records. 
This motion gave rise to a lengthy legal 
battle in which the defendant's counsel 
made several hidden thrusts involving 
Albert's veracity and calling the excuse 
in his testimony a cute invention of a 
biased witness. Then the unexpected, 
but yet the simplest solution of the 
pending question, occurred. The prisoner 
had been the most attentive listener of 
the proceedings. During Albert's ex- 
planation a wonderful change came over 
him; his stolid face gradually changed 
and brightened, he felt that every word 
that Albert had spoken was true; he 
thought of his own wife in old Ireland 



[153] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and of the baby boy whom he had never 
seen, and a mysterious longing welled up 
in him to have his own boy as good and 
brave as was the boy in the witness chair. 
He heard the attorneys debate about 
something the boy had said and what the 
law should say, but their talk was no 
more understood by him than if it had 
been Greek. He looked at the judge, at 
his scarred face molded in just such 
trials as this, he looked at the jury, at 
men like himself, he looked at the abused 
witness with a father's love, and the genius 
of the hour made him arise, address the 
court and then turn to the jury and say: 

"That boy," pointing to Albert, "spoke 
the truth. I meant to hit him, but hit 
Mike instead, who came to help the boy. 
Do with me what you like, but stop my 
lawyer abusing that boy." 

The words, uttered with a loud and 
firm voice and with an Irish accent, acted 
upon the judge, jury and audience with 



[154] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



the force of a thunderbolt. The audience 
arose and applauded, the jury shook 
hands with the defendant, while the 
judge, lawyers and other officers of the 
court acted as if they had been paralyzed. 
After the judge had admonished the 
audience not to disturb the further pro- 
ceedings of the court the defendant's 
attorney asked to be excused from the 
further attendance in the case. The 
request was cheerfully granted. The 
defendant's admission of guilt in open 
court was duly docketed, after which the 
court adjourned for the day. 

On leaving the court house the members 
of the Log House Club attracted a great 
deal of attention, and none more than 
Albert, who, with Mary and Lucy, was 
the first one to reach the street, which 
was packed with people discussing the 
recent events. 

Suddenly a large dog made its way 
through the crowd toward the court- 



[155 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



house steps, where the two girls were 
waiting for the other members. Seeing 
them, the dog, frantically yelping, jumped 
at and around them as if he were mad. 
A bystander had drawn his revolver and 
would have shot the apparently mad dog 
if there had been no danger of shooting 
the girls. When the girls cried out, 
"Carlo," and hugged and petted the dog, 
making it difficult to decide who was 
mad, the would-be savior put up his 
weapon in disgust. 

It was Carlo; a piece of the rope with 
which he had been tied was still around 
his neck. The dog, as Mrs. Graham said 
later, was in a desperate mood after the 
girls had left; he would not touch food 
of any kind nor was he susceptible to 
any caresses, but would lie in a corner 
with half -closed eyes as if he were con- 
templating death by starvation. The 
next time Mrs. Graham had occasion to 
look after the dog he was gone; the rope 



[ 156 ] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



with which he had been tied was chewed 
in two and a broken window indicated 
how he had made his escape. 

Arriving at the hotel, supper was 
ordered by John for the entire company of 
which Carlo had now become the most 
famed member. When they were seated 
around the table with Carlo placed 
between Lucy and Mary, he having a 
foot-stool for a table, the judge entered 
the dining-room, saluted the members and 
asked to be their guest. The request was 
cheerfully granted by all but Carlo, whose 
objections were stopped by Lucy assuring 
him that the judge had not been the 
guilty party. During the meal the wit, 
humor and penetrating thoughts made the 
supper a feast. Every one was at his best; 
the quick ending of a suit that might have 
lasted weeks, the prisoner's courage and 
noble manhood, and Carlo's attachment 
for his proteges were incentives that 
produced a flood of intellectual light, 



[157 



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which is still remembered by the sur- 
vivors. 

At the parting, after he had shaken 
hands with every member, even with 
Carlo whose reluctant f orepaw was guided 
by Lucy, the judge, in the act of opening 
the door, turned to his new friends and 
thanked them for the evening's enter- 
tainment which, as he assured them, had 
brought back to him the memory of 
his youth with all its glittering ideals, 
its hard fought triumphs and its stern 
defeats, and that he would always keep 
alive that memory until the great artist of 
the universe saw fit to will otherwise. 

Did the Great Spirit waft his "Amen" 
to these red-cheeked boys and girls and 
make them speechless? Or did the 
eloquence of old age penetrate their future 
and show them the mounds on hillside 
and dale under which would soon sleep 
the bravest of their generation? Who 
dare answer and withdraw the curtain 



[158] 



THE MURDER TRIAL 



which mercifully covers our future weal 
and woe? 

The joyous company at the table was 
suddenly changed to the sober, matter-of- 
fact one of parting. John requested the 
bill, but was told that everything had been 
paid and that the horses had just been 
hitched up ready for their homeward 
journey. John insisted upon knowing 
who had paid their bill, but the landlord 
claimed ignorance, assuring him that 
everything was all right and that the 
party who had sent the money had 
refused to give his name. 

Riley was sentenced to one year's 
imprisonment for manslaughter; the sen- 
tence was so light on account of the 
mitigating circumstances and his volun- 
tary confession of guilt. After six months 
he was pardoned, enlisted in the Union 
Army and served during the entire war; 
was twice wounded, honorably dis- 
charged, and is now drawing a good- 



[159 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



sized pension. His oldest son became 
one of the best criminal lawyers of his 
state, and in citing his father's experience 
he has stopped many culprits on their 
way to the gallows. 



[160] 



Chapter XIV 

THE CREATION OF HOME GUARDS AND 

THE ECHO OF THE FIRING ON 

FORT SUMTER 

ON December 20, 1860, South Caro- 
lina declared her secession. The 
leaders had determined to secede 
ever since John Brown's daring attack on 
slavery had been made and the marked 
sympathy with him and his aim had been 
noticed by the friends of slavery. The 
trouble in Kansas in 1859 had also served 
as a prelude to the war of secession and 
had logically paved the way to the final 
solution of the question of slavery in the 
United States. South Carolina's example 
of proclaiming her independence was 
followed in quick succession by the other 
Southern states, while the government lay 
in a trance, and the North still believed 
in a peaceful solution of the trouble. 



ii 



[161 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Our friends, notwithstanding the many 
ominous reports that the South was 
preparing for war, shared the same 
confidence; and even John had been of 
that opinion until his own state had 
seceded and he had received a letter from 
home. On the evening of the following 
day, while still at supper, John announced 
his determination to go South, giving as 
his reasons that serious complications 
among his relatives compelled his presence. 

This news was received with genuine 
sorrow and consternation. John had 
been the backbone of the pleasant union 
of so many men of different nationalities 
and characters, and fears were entertained 
that his withdrawal might mean the end 
of the association. Albert seemed to 
suffer the most; to him, John had been 
brother, father, and the unselfish kind 
friend who, from the evening at the hotel 
to the present, had been his constant 
adviser. 



[162] 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

The approaching parting cast a gloom 
over the entire household; Mrs. Graham's 
steps were less elastic; no girl's laughter 
cheered the men at meal-time; and even 
Fred, the ever cheerful and ready spokes- 
man, found no words in English to 
express his feelings, and half angrily- 
said at the table, when reaching for his 
last cup of coffee, "Yes, Scheiden thut 
weh!" 

On the morning of John's departure 
he, in company with Albert, called on 
Rev. Gilbert to bid him good-bye. The 
old gentleman, holding John's hand, 
replied in a prophetic tone of voice, " Not 
good-bye, my friend, but farewell! May 
your blood not swell the tide which must 
flow before the light will dawn." 

"Farewell then," said John, strangely 
agitated, and both friends left the patri- 
arch in gloomy silence. 

It was now ten o'clock in the morning 
of an ideal winter's day; the sun shone 

[163] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



bright, the sleighing was good, and the 
Mississippi, which they had to cross in 
order to get to the railroad station, was 
safely frozen. The same conveyance that 
had brought them to the Riley trial had 
been engaged again. All went, including 
Mrs. Graham and Carlo. The dog's 
capers, when he learned that he had been 
included, knew no bounds, and dispelled 
in part the melancholy which such a 
parting creates. The return from the 
city resembled a funeral rather than the 
return of a group of healthy young 
men and women to their pleasant home; 
even Carlo cut no more capers, but now 
and then looked inquiringly up to Albert. 

John had paid in full for the use of the 
conveyance and thus had prevented his 
friends from the consolation of having 
brought the last little sacrifice in behalf 
of their leader and ever unselfish friend. 

Mary and Lucy endeavored to console 
Albert, who remained silent and who 



[164] 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

could not suppress the feeling as if he 
had been attending John's funeral. He 
could not forget Rev. Gilbert's parting 
words, so full of mystery and woe; nor 
could he forget Mrs. Graham's utterance 
of the foreboding words that death is the 
wages of sin; and now that his friend had 
gone to a land in which slavery, the 
blackest crime of a liberty-loving nation, 
was still practised, he felt that the tide 
of blood to which Rev. Gilbert had 
referred, would be required to wipe out 
that crime, and that the blood of his 
dearest friend on earth would be a part. 
Arriving home, Albert soon found an 
antidote for that oppressive feeling, 
namely, work! Work with hand and 
brain! He remembered that on a sultry 
day in June a cloud, which seemed to 
wrap the universe in gloom and darkness, 
had suddenly opened and disclosed a 
magnificent spectacle of light fighting 
darkness for supremacy. The contest 

[165] 



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was brief but decisive; light triumphed! 
The dark cloud was transferred into the 
blissful rain, and soon the sun, in renewed 
glory, shone again. 

What a wonderful mechanism is the 
human brain to be able to draw from its 
myriads of impressions just those which 
serve to heal the wounded heart! 

Albert occupied in the Graham family 
the place of a brother and son. Mrs. 
Graham ordered him about in such a 
natural way that Albert obeyed orders 
with the same readiness with which he 
had obeyed his mother; Mary and 
Lucy came to him not only with their 
difficult questions in grammar, arithmetic 
and other branches, but also with those 
little troubles and achievements that are 
of interest only to the members of a 
family. 

Mary's conduct towards him was 
markedly changed in one respect since the 
evening of the school-directors' meeting 



[166 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

and the award of prizes. She had never 
before been intimately acquainted with 
any young man; she recognized in Albert 
the ideal of all manly virtues, her own 
personality was powerfully attracted by 
that of Albert's; she often forced herself 
from pondering over the language of his 
eyes, which language she longed to be 
in her favor. When on that eventful 
evening at the school-directors' meeting, 
she met him and touched his hand, the 
omnipotent power of her own love broke 
all fetters and she concentrated in one 
look the love she felt for him, and 
searched in his eyes for a response, but 
found therein only a frightened surprise 
and a brother's love. Thereafter she 
fought the outbursts of her passionate 
love with all the strength of a stern con- 
viction, and in so doing sometimes 
wounded Albert's friendly and brotherly 
approaches. 

Mary was not beautiful; her features 

[167] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



were irregular, and in repose might be 
classed with the commonplace faces that 
we see every day; but when aroused by 
anger, pity or love, a wonderful change 
came over them; her eyes would dilate 
and glow and every lineament of her 
face would express the power of her feeling 
within. Thus it happened that she 
looked at times like a Medusa and some- 
times like an Aphrodite; between these 
two extremes she appeared what she 
really was, a sensible, obedient daughter, 
a calm reasoner and a faithful friend. 

In February, 1861, the states which 
had seceded, united and declared an 
Independent Southern Republic, with 
Jefferson Davis as their president. The 
effect upon the North was powerful and 
the belief in a settlement of the difficulties 
without bloodshed became more and more 
hopeless. Patriotic men of all political 
parties prepared for the worst. It became 
known that during the late Democratic 



[168] 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

rule many weapons and other material 
of war had been distributed over the 
South, whereas the North had been left 
void of such weapons and material. 

Since John's return to the South, the 
political movements were followed more 
closely than before by the people in the 
village and by the members of the club. 
Rumors of depredations committed by 
Indians, or men dressed as Indians, 
reached those scattered communities on 
the outskirts of civilization, of which this 
was one, and created a considerable stir 
among them, especially since it was 
reported and believed that these depreda- 
tions were originated and supported by 
the southern slaveholders for the purpose 
of preventing the North from interfering 
with their movement of secession. 

At a public meeting held in the village, 
it was determined to form a company of 
home guards for the protection of the 
inhabitants against such marauding 

[169] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



tribes; and to have its members provided 
with arms and ammunition at the expense 
of the village. Seventeen young men 
offered themselves on that very evening 
to become members of such a company 
and were accepted. 

All the men of the club had joined. 
Hugo, the ex-Prussian soldier, the only 
person in the village who knew anything 
about military matters, was chosen cap- 
tain. During the week the company 
increased to twenty-five members, after 
which the drilling commenced. Every 
available rifle in the village and the 
vicinity was surrendered to the company, 
and target shooting became the order of 
the day whenever a sufficient amount of 
powder and lead could be obtained. 
Signals, by firing guns, were agreed upon 
in case of a sudden attack, and the 
government was petitioned for proper 
arms and ammunition. 

One evening in April, 1861, the signals 



170] 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

agreed upon were fired in rapid succession, 
and every member of the Home Guards 
grasped his rifle and what ammunition he 
could find and hastened to the village 
schoolhouse. No enemy was in sight, 
no other commotion was visible except 
the excitement caused by the shooting. 
As soon as the company was assembled 
Rev. Gilbert stepped forward and, as the 
reason for the alarm, stated that the 
postmaster had received a dispatch, the 
contents of which he deemed of such 
importance that it should be immediately 
made known to the members in order 
that they might prepare for the emer- 
gency. With trembling hands he then 
unfolded a piece of paper and read: 
"Fort Sumter has been fired upon by 
the Secessionists." Turning to the ex- 
cited audience he said that the firing of 
those cannons meant war; that murder 
was now legalized by this overt act of 
the South; that Mr. Lincoln, with all 

[171] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



his love for humanity and his faith in a 
final adjustment of the difficulties without 
bloodshed, would now be compelled to 
ask the patriots of the Nation to save the 
Union. That he would and must ask 
them to offer their lives upon the altar of 
their homes and country. 

Silence followed this stunning news; 
the unexpected message and Rev. Gil- 
bert's unfaltering certainty of an impend- 
ing war seemed to have paralyzed those 
present. Finally, the captain was called 
upon to give his views as to what steps 
should be taken under such conditions, 
whether the company would be in duty 
bound to go if called upon, and kindred 
questions. Hugo's answer was brief but 
to the point: 

"We shall continue to learn keeping 
step and shooting straight, and if we are 
called upon to shoot slaveholders instead 
of marauding Indians, what is the dif- 
ference?" 



[172 



CREATION OF HOME GUARDS 

i Applause followed his words; other 
members of the company expressed them- 
selves in the same tenor. It was finally 
resolved to continue to perfect themselves 
as a military organization and to request 
immediate aid from the state. 



[173 



Chapter XV 

THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

THE firing of those cannons caused 
a general depression of business 
and almost an entire cessation of 
improvements and activity in educational 
matters. The war-cloud overshadowed 
every enterprise that was not directly 
connected with the resistance and sup- 
pression of the rebellious element; con- 
sequently our friends' expectations of 
entering new and more congenial fields 
of labor in the spring were doomed to die. 
A few days after, the news of Presi- 
dent Lincoln's call for seventy-five thou- 
sand volunteers for the suppression of the 
Rebellion reached them. It was criti- 
cized by some as a call for too many 
troops and by others as a call for not 
enough. During May, 1861, the Union 
forces achieved a few victories in the 

[ 174 ] 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

East and West, causing the North to 
expect a rapid termination of the war 
and a complete subjugation of the seceded 
states. 

The club shared in this expectation. 
The new schoolhouse was to be built 
during the summer and opened in Sep- 
tember, 1861. The members of the 
club had closed their wood contract 
and had engaged in another of grading; 
Mrs. Graham had secured from the rail- 
road company, on easy terms, the log 
house and the acre of land on which it 
was located; Mary had passed her 
teacher's examination and intended to 
teach the next fall term in the village. 

Everything about them looked hopeful 
excepting the condition of Rev. Gilbert's 
health. He had been obliged to give 
up preaching on account of lung trouble, 
and was gradually growing weaker. In a 
conversation with Mrs. Graham he ex- 
pressed the wish to live until the Union 

[175] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



was saved and that a just God would 
grant his prayer. 

A Federal victory in July, 1861, in 
Missouri, had apparently saved that 
state for the Union, and General Scott 
with a powerful army was marching 
toward Richmond in order to strike the 
final blow that was to crush the Con- 
federacy. 

: The Home Guards had received their 
weapons and caps from the state but no 
ammunition of any kind. The general 
expectation of a speedy ending of the 
war by the capture of the leaders of the 
Confederacy made officials very careless 
in providing the necessary accoutrements. 
President Lincoln's abhorrence of war and 
his confidence in the restoration of peace 
after a decisive Union victory, were also 
known and shared by the masses in the 
North; all of which caused considerable 
delay in the formation of such armies as 
a less humane president, who was better 



[176] 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

informed of the vindictive spirit and 
powerful resources of the South, would 
have created with the utmost speed. 

Who can describe the agony and 
despair of the patriots in the North 
when the crushing defeat of the Union 
army at Bull Run, in July, 1861, became 
known ! Plunged from the highest expec- 
tations of victory into the deepest gloom 
of such a defeat paralyzed the North 
while in the South the victory was oil 
poured on the flames of secession. The 
immediate consequences of that defeat 
in the community of which the log house 
formed a part were decisive and in one 
instance tragical. 

One evening as the young men were 
returning from a hard day's work of 
grading and were elated at the prospect 
of completing the contract with the rail- 
road company on the next day and of 
securing work in the harvest fields, the 
postmaster entered and told them the 



12 



[177] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



unexpected news. The sudden explosion 
of a bomb could have had no greater 
effect than had the postmaster's simple 
statement. The magnitude of the strug- 
gle stood now clearly before them, and 
no one doubted but that the war would 
continue until the one side or the other 
would be annihilated. 

From now on a strange uneasiness 
seized them. Each one had received 
assurances that with the disappearance 
of the war-cloud a desired position would 
be ready for him; and now the cloud had 
grown blacker and larger than ever. 
The sympathizers with the South, of 
whom even the little village had its 
quota, deprecated the idea of resistance, 
and privately advised to let the South go, 
giving as reasons that the struggle to 
keep them within the Union was hopeless; 
that the Southerners were born soldiers 
and the Northerners born farmers; that 
the North had no materials of war and 



[178] 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

no leaders, and that the South had an 
abundance of both. It was the siren's 
song of treachery and cowardice and 
found many willing hearts and ears; 
it sang its bewitching air among the 
members of the club and made some 
converts, and threw among them the 
poison of distrust and the germ of dis- 
union and secession. 

Another report, however, came soon. It 
resembled the blast of Gabriel's trumpet 
on the day of resurrection: Congress 
had convened and granted to President 
Lincoln not only the limited amount of 
money and men for which he had asked, 
but it had also unanimously given him 
the power to use the entire strength, 
wealth and credit of the nation for the 
purpose of saving the Union. This mes- 
sage had a wonderful effect. It resembled 
a refreshing rain after the long drought 
that had withered patriotism; it was the 
star of Bethlehem that led to the cradle 

[179] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



of liberty and raised vast armies among 
the peace-loving people of the North 
and took from death on the field of battle 
the agonizing fear of failure and placed 
in its stead the wreath of immortality. 

The effect upon the members of the 
Log House Club was also decisive; Hugo 
Brenner, by virtue of his leadership of 
the Home Guards and his faculty of 
organizing, had been chosen in John's 
place chairman of the club; its members 
felt keenly that the time had come for 
its dissolution, and that the god of 
patriotism suffered no other god beside 
him. The few members who had lately 
lent their ear to the bewitching song 
"Let the South depart in peace" had 
returned to the patriotic fold upon the 
wave of enthusiasm which had its origin 
in the act of Congress turning its power 
over to the cabin boy, in the effort to 
save the Union. 

Albert and Fred had taught the girls 



[180] 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

the last lesson, although nothing had 
been said about its being the last; but 
they knew that the many settlements 
among the members meant a severance 
of associates. The science of the teacher 
must yield to the science of the soldier, 
the human heart was not capable of serv- 
ing two such masters. When Albert had 
explained the last problem to Mary 
and had closed the book and handed it to 
her with an expression as if his mind 
were upon the battle-field instead, she 
burst out crying and left the room. Mrs. 
Graham and Lucy were also visibly 
moved and thanked Albert for the many 
acts of kindness he had bestowed upon 
the family. 

A meeting of the club was called for 
the next evening; all members well knew 
that it was to be the last one. The chair- 
man, in an opening speech, praised the 
precision with which every act of the 
household had been done by all the mem- 

[181] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



bers, and further touched upon the in- 
creased happiness and knowledge which 
had been the result. He then stated 
that the object of the meeting was to 
discuss the question whether the unity of 
the club should be preserved during the 
approaching war. 

The opinions on that question differed 
considerably; several members advocated 
enlistment with the regular army, claim- 
ing that such an action would do away 
with the slow process of drilling for 
months before the active life of a soldier 
could begin, and that the members of 
the club, by virtue of having received 
private lessons by the chairman, were 
fully qualified to enter at once as members 
of the regular army. Other members 
feared that such an enlistment would 
bring about a complete dissolution of the 
club, as they would in all probability 
be scattered among different companies 
of experienced soldiers ; while as members 



[182 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

of the Home Guards they would form 
the nucleus of a new company, and on 
account of their former training would be 
of greater service to the cause than they 
could be by the immediate enlisting with 
the regular army. At the final balloting, 
Mrs. Graham and her daughters refusing 
to vote, the vote stood three in favor of 
enlisting and five against. The chairman 
in announcing the result remarked that 
in accordance with the principle of self- 
government the majority rules and that 
the club was to remain with the Home 
Guards. Fred Lambert objected to this 
ruling, insisting that in time of war the 
usual parliamentary rules and general 
principles do not govern; that the Presi- 
dent of the United States had ordered, 
besides the enlistment of raw recruits, 
at least twenty-five thousand trained 
soldiers to increase and strengthen the 
regular army, and that, since the North 
had but few trained soldiers, it would 

[183] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



be the duty of every one trained in 
military tactics to respond to the call at 
once and perhaps aid to quell in infancy, 
with the loss of a few men only, secession 
in some states, which if left alone for a 
considerable time, would require armies 
and thousands of lives and millions 
of dollars to suppress. Albert was of 
the same opinion. He pointed to Mis- 
souri and Kentucky, the two border 
states, which might be saved if the 
Unionists therein were, without delay, 
backed by an army of trained soldiers, 
sufficient to cope with the enemy, since 
the raw, untrained levies had proved 
their weakness at Bull Run and their 
unfitness to cope with the trained men of 
the South. 

Paul Gerard, being convinced of the 
soundness of Albert's and Fred's argu- 
ments, made a motion to rescind the 
former vote and to leave the question of 
further united action undecided. This 



i 



184] 



THE DEMON OF WAR LET LOOSE 

motion was carried without a dissenting 
vote. 

Mrs. Graham was now asked to express 
her opinion. She obeyed, but had great 
difficulty to govern her voice while she 
spoke as follows: 

"Being denied to be a mother of boys, 
I have adopted you, and my daughters 
have received you as brothers; you have 
fostered virtue and shunned vice; you 
have succeeded in establishing a union, 
composed of members from every domi- 
nant nation in the world, that has 
astonished every one who has heard of 
this club. We shall soon part, but be 
assured that wherever you may hereafter 
cast your lot, whether before the enemy 
or before the drillmaster, our prayers will 
be with you; and should you fall while 
striving to serve that larger Union, our 
tears will flow as they do now." 

The noble woman and her peerless 
daughters sobbingly left the room, while 

[185] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the men arose in homage to exalted 
womanhood. 

At this moment the gravity of the 
situation weighed most heavily upon the 
shoulders of the young men. 

They felt that with the breaking .of 
the circle by which they had been united 
with the weeping women, the ideal civili- 
zation for which their club had striven, 
was shattered, and that they had in its 
place accepted the civilization of the dark 
ages of blood and murder. Fred Lambert 
broke the painful silence, during which a 
deep longing for their ideals, bordering 
on repentance, had seized them, by 
quoting Schiller in Wilhelm Tell, 

"Es kann der Frommste nicht ini Frieden bleiben, 
Wenn es dem bosen Nachbar nicht gefallt." 



[186] 



Chapter XVI 



THE CLUB S EMBARKING FOR THE NEAREST 
FIELD OF CONTEST 

EFFORTS had been made to with- 
hold the news of the terrible 
defeat of the Union Army at Bull 
Run from Rev. Gilbert, whose physical 
condition w T as precarious during the hot 
summer of 1861. This sharp observer 
of human frailties, however, soon detected 
that the news of some important event 
was withheld from him and demanded 
of his granddaughter to tell him what 
had happened. The direct question and 
the imploring eyes of her grandfather, 
threw her into a spasm of weeping. 
Fortunately the attending physician 
called at that time. Upon the patient's 
repeating the question, the physician 
related, in the mildest form possible, the 
disastrous Union defeat, and that Presi- 

[187] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



dent Lincoln had called for the immediate 
enlistment of five hundred thousand more 
troops to prosecute the war. The physi- 
cian was surprised at the composure with 
which the patient had accepted the news; 
seizing his hand to congratulate him 
upon this feat of self-control, the physi- 
cian noticed that the hand was lifeless 
and that the wide open eyes were rigid 
in death. 

The club attended Rev. Gilbert's fu- 
neral in a body; they had been chosen 
as pall-bearers on their old friend's last 
journey and fired a salute over his grave 
in honor of the first victim of the Civil 
War who had died in the village. 

Rev. Colby, a lifelong friend and 
former classmate of Rev. Gilbert, con- 
ducted the funeral rites, and at the open 
grave wafted a last farewell to him whom 
a kind fate had peacefully removed from 
the murderous scenes of his home to the 
pleasant dreamland and rest of the 



188 



EMBARKING FOR THE CONTEST 

universal abode in which a just God rules 
supreme. 

A recruiting officer in the city had heard 
of the company of young men and urged 
them to enlist at once in the regular 
army. This fact had been known by 
every member of the club and by the 
people of the village and had led to 
considerable discussion whether the state 
had the right to prevent any member of its 
home guards from enlisting in the regular 
army of the United States. Upon inquiry 
it was ascertained that the state had no 
such right in time of war. With this 
legal question settled, and in view of the 
urgent demand for trained soldiers and 
of the disorder prevailing in the manage- 
ment of the military affairs in the state, 
and upon the urgent invitation of friends 
in Missouri, the members finally agreed to 
join, in a body, General Lyon's command 
in that state, where strenuous efforts 
were made by the enemy to secure at 

[189] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



least the southern half of the state for 
the Confederacy. 

As soon as it became known that all 
the members of the club were to join the 
federal forces, a universal sadness spread 
over the village, and every family felt 
for the first time, as they noticed the 
anxiety and care with which these young 
men prepared for the field, that war had 
actually begun. 

The day of parting had come; a large 
steamer was to carry the members to 
St. Louis. The whole village was aroused 
and accompanied the club to the landing. 
Mrs. Graham and her daughters had, 
for the last time, waited upon the boys 
at the table; any attempt to drive away 
sadness was a failure. The landlord, 
who had come with his conveyance to take 
the women to the landing, had brought 
the news that large bodies of Confederates 
had entered Missouri and that General 
Lyon had repeatedly demanded help from 



[190] 



EMBARKING FOR THE CONTEST 

the East but had failed to get it, and that 
the West had to help itself. This news 
destroyed every doubt as to the wisdom 
of the club's action and made every 
member thereof feel relieved. 

Albert was the last to bid good-bye to 
Mrs. Graham and her daughters. He 
had resolved to send his school books 
with his farewell to his sister in Buffalo, 
and to ask Mrs. Graham to do it for him; 
in his patriotic zeal he had forgotten 
everything else, even his sister. As he 
handed to Mrs. Graham the books with 
a letter addressed to his sister, and once 
more thanked her for all the friendship 
and loving care he had received from her 
and asked her forgiveness for all the grief 
he might have caused her, she, with a 
mother's affection, kissed him farewell 
and with an unsteady voice added: 

" No, Albert, our accounts are balanced 
to date; whatsoever the future may have 
in store for us, I shall leave the settlement 

[191] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



with the great God who has permitted 
this tearing asunder." 

"Good-bye and farewell, Lucy, my 
sister," said Albert to the weeping girl. 
As an answer she threw her arms around 
his neck and kissed him and then with her 
mother left the room. As Albert turned 
with outstretched hands toward Mary, 
who was seated on a chair near the 
window where she could see the people 
passing to the landing, she turned pale, 
a convulsive trembling came over her and 
she sank noiselessly to the floor. Albert, 
terror stricken, laid her on the couch; 
her eyes were closed and her teeth 
firmly set; no breath escaped her lips, 
which he passionately kissed. Never had 
he beheld a fairer face than the one before 
him upon which death had apparently 
impressed its mark. Her young life 
passed before him; he thought of her 
searching eyes, the sudden withdrawal of 
her hand when, by chance, she had 



[192] 



EMBARKING FOR THE CONTEST 

touched his; the peculiar secret care that 
she had shown for his welfare — all these 
thoughts turned upon him in a moment 
and revealed to him the loss of that love 
which the world could never restore. 

Her mother came upon his call for help; 
she noticed instantly that Mary had only 
fainted. Loud calls for Albert were 
heard outside, while Mrs. Graham was 
administering restoratives to Mary and 
soon brought her back to consciousness. 
As Mary opened her eyes Albert fell upon 
his knees before her, kissing her eyes and 
lips, and with a voice softened by the 
overpowering passion of love that had 
thrilled his very being, cried, "Farewell, 
my love, my sweet love! 9 ' and then left 
the room to join Fred, who was still 
calling. Upon seeing Albert, Fred met 
him with the prosaic question, "Where 
in the deuce have you been? we shall be 
too late for the boat!" to which Albert 
half angrily replied, "Where in the name 



13 



[193] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



of heaven did you get that word 'deuce' 
from?" 

Almost the entire population of the 
village was present at the landing when 
Albert and Fred arrived; Lucy and Carlo 
were also there, while Mrs. Graham 
stayed with Mary. The dog had whined 
so pitifully when he noticed the boys, his 
former comrades, leaving the house with 
their luggage, that Lucy was determined 
to let Carlo see the big ship in which 
his kind friends were to leave. The boat 
arrived at the same time that Fred 
and Albert reached the landing. The 
parting was painful, and its tragical 
character was enhanced by the following 
unexpected incident: 

Harry Elwell, one of the village boys, 
who had joined the Home Guards, had 
secretly determined to go with the mem- 
bers of the club. He was one of the best 
qualified members of the company, the 
best shot and a Unionist to the backbone; 



[194 



EMBARKING FOR THE CONTEST 

his father had died many years before and 
the son had been the sole support of his 
crippled mother. The old lady had 
insisted upon seeing the "boys off" and 
was at the landing. As Fred and Albert 
shook hands with her and turned toward 
the boat, Harry stepped up to his mother, 
fell on her neck and told her that he too 
was going with the boys. The mother 
made no reply but clung to her son and 
wept. The ship's bell rang, the huge 
sidewheels of the boat began to stir, and 
still the old lady held her boy in close 
embrace. The passengers, who had wit- 
nessed the scene between mother and son, 
begged the captain to countermand the 
order of starting; he unwillingly did so, 
then turning to the weeping mother and 
freeing the boy by carefully unloosening 
her arms, he asked her in a clear, impres- 
sive voice: 

"Do you, in the presence of the 
Almighty God and these witnesses, refuse 

[195] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



to allow your son to go with his friends 
and comrades to defend his country and 
yours r 

A dead silence followed. The mother 
covered her eyes with her hands through 
which the tears were forcing themselves. 
The sun, that had been under a cloud, 
suddenly burst forth and illumined the 
old lady's gray hair until it shone like a 
glittering diadem. Harry had again 
gently embraced his mother and whis- 
pered some endearing words to her; she 
slowly freed herself, kissed him once 
more, and although her tears were flowing 
fast, bade him farewell. 

Upon sign from the captain the wheels 
again began to revolve, and as the mother 
turned toward her home the band of the 
receding ship began to play the national 
hymn and the audience on ship and shore 
joined in the sacred anthem. 

The waves of the grand old hymn also 
reached Mary's chamber in the now 



[196] 



EMBARKING FOR THE CONTEST 

deserted house. She heard the trumpet's 
sound and lay trembling in her mother's 
arms as if its notes were echoes of the 
thuds of falling earth upon her lover's 
coffin. 

The members of the Log House Club 
waved a last farewell to their friends on 
shore. Carlo, seeming to grasp the 
situation, ran to Lucy and barked loudly. 
The distracted girl, well understanding 
the troubled animal's appeal, threw her- 
self on the ground, and clasping her arms 
around her faithful friend cried: 

"No, Carlo, they will never come back 
again." 

The huge steamer plowed onward to 
its destination, St. Louis. The topic 
of conversation among its passengers 
was war, and war only. The grasping 
trader commingled with the patriotic 
warrior; the goal of the one was the 
amassing of untold wealth and the goal 
of the other was victory or the grave; 



197 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the lips of the one were burning with the 
"hot sling" sold by the bartender, and 
the lips of the other were still burning 
with the kisses of his despairing loved 
ones. — Horrible war! The barbarian's 
pride and the family's curse ! Will civi- 
lization ever grow strong enough to 
throttle that demon? 



[198 



H 



Chapter XVII 

SCENES OF HOME 

**Y T^W dreary everything is 
around here, Mamma, with- 
out the boys," exclaimed 
Lucy on the next morning. The old log 
house seemed to be as large and as old 
again as formerly; the long table in the 
dining-room, without the lively conversa- 
tion and hearty laughter of the boys, 
stared at the women like the monument 
erected over departed friends. Even 
Mrs. Graham, the matter-of-fact woman, 
while the breakfast was on the table and 
she was awaiting her daughters, was 
overpowered with the loneliness of the 
place and with a longing for her adopted 
sons, and burying her face in her arms, 
she leaned forward on the table and wept. 
Thus Mary and Lucy found her. 

What a consolation to know that others 

[199] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



are sharing the same burden that seems 
to smother your very life, and to take 
away the sunshine which had made it a 
continuous holiday! 

Carlo even, walked about the place with 
drooping head and ears, the very picture 
of misery. He missed the boys' cheering 
voices and their plays with him. They 
had trained him to fill the wood-box, to 
get Albert's hat and shoes, to stand on 
his hind legs and shoulder a toy gun, 
and to do many other tricks, all of which 
he delighted to do. He knew by the 
women's tears that a great calamity 
had befallen the old log house; his 
faithful heart shared his friends' sorrow 
and he tried by redoubled efforts to 
console them. 

In the following spring, during an 
almost unprecedented high water, Carlo 
saved the lives of two small children from 
drowning. At that time the brook 
encircling the village had suddenly be- 



[200] 



SCENES OF HOME 



come a stream and had carried with it 
the little brother and sister while they 
were playing on its bank. At Carlo's 
death a few years later, the whole village 
mourned and he was buried on the 
brightest spot in the village cemetery. 
Afterwards the villagers, with the finan- 
cial aid of the members of the Log House 
Club, erected over his grave a beautiful 
monument, which represented the faith- 
ful dog with the children he had saved, 
clinging to him. 

Farewell, Carlo! Never has man de- 
served a monument more than you! 
Unselfish, never driven by ambition nor 
desire for reward, faithful in the grandest 
signification of that word, always ready 
to do and die for humanity, the story of 
your noble life is an example for sin- 
laden mankind, and is worthy of the 
tears that were shed when you crossed 
the dark river. Farewell! 

The whole village felt the void among 



[ 201 ] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



them after the young men had left. 
No one had fully appreciated the silent 
influence that had been exerted by that 
union of young men with high ideals. 
They had at first been made the butt of 
ridicule by worshippers of strong drink 
and tobacco. The log house had been 
dubbed "The Insane Asylum," by the 
lower strata of society, and by the better 
classes, "The Phantom Castle." 

Their faith in the realization of ideals, 
the execution of which would require the 
uprooting of doubly entrenched habits, 
had not yet been planted among the new- 
comers. Riley's confession of guilt, the 
unceasing activity and truthfulness and 
the dropping of whiskey and tobacco from 
the list of necessities among the members 
of the club, their wholesale enlistment 
and their joining the Union army, were 
required to convince the most obstinate 
and vicious among the scoffers, of the 
pure intentions and actions of the mem- 



[202] 



SCENES OF HOME 



bers and of the efficiency of their prin- 
ciples. 

On the Sunday following the departure 
of the boys, two voices were missing in 
the church choir, the owners of which 
had endeared themselves to everyone. 
The organist had played the prelude, the 
choir had arisen to sing the opening hymn, 
but no tone escaped them, only tears 
rilled their eyes in the recollection of the 
cruel parting from their companions. 
In their stead, the whole congregation 
arose, and, inspired with the sanctity 
of the moment, sang as they had never 
sung before. That Sunday's service 
was consecrated to the memory of the 
boys in blue and to the bereft mother in 
yonder corner of the church, yearning for 
the presence of her only child. 

The young minister, who had been 
sent there on that Sabbath to preach his 
first sermon, bestowed such a eulogy 
upon the departed friends that even the 



[203 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



old mother ceased yearning for her boy 
during the young patriot's glow of elo- 
quence. He pictured death upon the 
battle-field in defense of one's country 
as the grandest and most beautiful death 
of all. 

He, too, was true to his ideals. By 
his undaunted energy and eloquent 
appeals to the young men of the county, 
he revived enthusiasm for the cause, 
saved the rest of the Home Guards from 
disbanding, raised the company to the 
full quota of men, and adopted Albert's 
motto, "Never surrender." Later, as 
the captain of the company, he paid the 
debt to his country by a hero's death 
upon a southern battle-field, while his 
betrothed, Rev. Gilbert's grandchild, 
Agnes, longed to follow him when he was 
laid away. 

The village people were anxiously fol- 
lowing the movements of the contending 
armies in Missouri. Several letters had 



[204 






SCENES OF HOME 



been received from the boys who reported 
their arrival at St. Louis and described 
the war-like aspect of that city. The 
telegraph worked as yet very defectively 
in the West. The report of the battle of 
Wilson's Creek, fought on August 10, 
1861, reached the village several days 
after the battle had occurred. No list 
of the dead and wounded had accompa- 
nied the telegram, only the death of 
General Lyon was reported; also that 
the losses on both sides had been heavy 
and that the Union army had returned 
in good order to Springfield. 

The tormenting pain of uncertainty 
as to the names of the dead and wounded, 
was most keenly felt in the Graham 
family. Finally, on the morning of the 
fourth day after the battle, Mary re- 
ceived a letter from Albert bearing the 
postmark of Springfield, Missouri. She 
stared at the letter as if it had been a 
messenger from heaven, then covered 



205] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



her eyes as if she had been dazzled by 
a sudden light and pressed her heart 
as if to keep it from breaking. 

Why is the brilliant messenger of joy 
so closely allied to the dark one of grief? 
Do we, in the act of being lifted to the 
highest mountain peak of happiness, 
see clearer the bottomless gulf of de- 
spair below, had the die been cast the 
other way? 

Upon a sign from Mary, her mother 
opened the letter and handed it back 
to her daughter. While reading, Mary's 
face showed distinctly the agitation of 
her heart. Mother and sister waited 
anxiously as the color of her cheeks 
changed from the flush of the rose to 
the paleness of the lily. Having read 
the letter she handed it to her mother 
with a sigh, and left the room without 
a word. Both Mrs. Graham and Lucy 
read and re-read the letter which fol- 
lows, and which may aid the reader in 



[206] 



SCENES OF HOME 



understanding more fully the closing 
scenes of this narrative by becoming 
acquainted with the motives that led 
the actors: 

Springfield, Mo., August 9, 1861. 
Dearest: Hoping that you have received my letter 
of August 5th, I shall relate to you our further expe- 
rience. We are now at Springfield, Mo., where we ar- 
rived yesterday; the town is full of Union fugitives 
from the southern counties of the state that have been 
invaded by the Confederates under the Generals Mc- 
Culloch and Price. Fred is a jewel; his good humor 
has made us many friends in our company. Our expe- 
rience during the time we were members of the Log 
House Club has now become invaluable. The assort- 
ment of needles and thread with which you presented 
me last Christmas is now more appreciated than ever. 
I would not exchange it for the most precious ring. 
That reminds me that no ring of mine adorns your busy 
hand ! How is it possible that but a single thought of 
you can fill my whole being! When at parting I held, 
as it seemed, your lifeless form, I knew not whether it 
was love or approaching death that blotted from my 
memory every other thought but of you. I know it 
now! It was love — as endless as the ring that you shall 
wear for me; as pure as you are and as immortal as is 
creation itself. Severed we are still united. Should I 
fall, plant some forget-me-nots upon my grave, but do 
not mourn for me ! 



[207] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Fred is again calling as he did on the day we left 
the old home; the army is to march at night and attack 
the enemy in the morning. Fred has just finished a 
letter to his mother in Germany and we have agreed 
that should one fall the other would send notice to his 
friends. I hear the last signal. Farewell, my sweet 
love, and think of him who always thinks of you. 

Your Albert. 



Day after day passed in tormenting 
uncertainty as to the life or death of 
Albert and Fred. Newspapers furnished 
very inaccurate lists of the dead, wounded 
and missing. Two weeks had passed 
since Mary had received Albert's letter 
and notwithstanding the many inquiries 
made by letter and friends at head- 
quarters, no trace had been found of 
them since the battle, and no notice had 
been sent by either. Were they both 
dead, mortally wounded, or made pris- 
oners? Had heaven no compassion on 
that poor girl who with tearless eyes so 
patiently longed for a message from the 
dead or living lover? 



[208] 



SCENES OF HOME 



In the meantime the building of the 
new schoolhouse had progressed rapidly. 
School was to commence on the second 
Monday of September and Mary Graham 
had been formally elected as one of the 
teachers, but had not yet accepted. 
She could not teach any one as long as 
she was in doubt about the life or death 
of Albert. 

At last she resolved to search for the 
missing one in person and chose for 
that purpose the garb of a nurse. She 
had been a highly successful assistant 
to the village doctor in nursing difficult 
cases that had come under his care, and 
in view of that fact Mrs. Graham and 
Lucy at last approved of her desperate 
step and did everything in their power 
to aid her. 

Reports from Missouri indicated a 
firm determination on the part of the 
Federals to drive the Confederates from 
the state. In the certainty of future 



14 



[ 209 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



bloodshed nurses were in great demand 
in that locality and were gratefully re- 
ceived. 

On the day before Mary was to leave 
for the South, Mrs. Graham received 
a letter from an attorney in Germany in 
which he requested Fred's present ad- 
dress, and notifying her further of the 
death of Fred's mother and the neces- 
sity of his presence in Germany as one 
of the two heirs of her large estate. 
Mrs. Graham duly entrusted this letter 
with Mary who, on the next day, as the 
sun was sinking in the west, left her old 
home. 

Mary took passage on the same steamer 
that a month before had taken the boys 
to St. Louis. She was made aware of 
that fact when the captain asked after 
Mrs. Elwell's condition. Mary informed 
him that the old lady was well provided 
for by the community and that the at- 
tention and care that she had received 



[210] 



SCENES OF HOME 



from the village people had proved to 
be a great consolation to her. Upon the 
captain's further inquiry after the young 
men who had left for Missouri for the 
purpose of joining General Lyon's army, 
she related the painful absence of news 
after the battle of Wilson's Creek; that 
they were unable to learn whether any 
of the young men had been killed or 
wounded and that she was now going 
south to seek for them, and that she 
might perhaps be of some help in taking 
care of the wounded. 

The captain gave her some valuable 
advice and promised to aid her further 
by giving her recommendations to sev- 
eral Union commanders then operating 
in South Missouri. 

The captain did more than this. Ar- 
rived at St. Louis he personally conducted 
Mary to a private family where she re- 
mained a few days until she was well 
acquainted with the difficulties of her 



[211] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



task. She was soon convinced that she 
would have to follow the tracks of sev- 
eral Confederate regiments which had 
been most actively engaged in the late 
battle and in the caring of the dead and 
wounded on both sides, and that in 
order to have any show of success she 
had to dress as a boy. Mary's courage 
grew with the difficulties she encountered 
and her determination to find Albert 
and Fred, either dead or alive, became 
unalterable. 

The family with whom she stayed pro- 
vided her with a boy's suit and with 
coloring matter to change her complex- 
ion. Her beautiful hair was cut in order 
to make her disguise complete. Before 
all this was done and before she left 
St. Louis she delivered the letter from 
Fred's attorney in Germany to a re- 
liable bank with directions to attend to 
the matter, and also made arrangements 
with the same bank to have money sent 



[212] 



SCENES OF HOME 



to her, even though it be to adjoining 
states that had seceded. 

Mary appeared before the hospitable 
family in her new attire, carrying an 
old valise; at first they failed to recog- 
nize her, so perfect was her disguise. 
They wished her success upon her sad 
errand; and Mary, thanking them for 
their kindness, departed for the South. 



[213] 



Chapter XVIII 

THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 

AT Springfield, Missouri, Mary was 
bewildered by hearing so many 
different stories of fugitives and 
wounded soldiers who had been har- 
bored by families residing near the late 
battle-field. In order to have any show 
of success she was obliged to trace every 
report and to ascertain the details in 
every instance. On the evening of the 
fifth day she had still no clue of the 
missing ones. Being hungry and tired — 
the country around her was drained of 
all eatables and appeared like a large 
cemetery — she longed to lie down and 
sleep the last sleep from which there is 
no awakening. She had visited every 
family that had taken care of wounded 
soldiers, but no description of the men 
applied to Albert or Fred. The very 

[214] 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



pity with which she was met everywhere 
convinced her of the impossibility of the 
task. 

She was now several miles from the 
battle-field and too tired to continue the 
search. Finding a secluded spot behind 
a clump of bushes she lay down and fell 
asleep. The yelling of a boy who was 
crashing through the bushes where she 
was lying awoke her suddenly. While 
driving a cow the boy had noticed a 
dark object before him and being un- 
certain whether it was a beast or a man 
he had given the alarm which brought 
Mary quickly to her feet. She at once 
remembered her strange situation and 
asked the boy, who was not more than 
twelve years old, whether there was a 
place in the neighborhood in which she 
could spend the night. The boy told 
her to come along to his mother who 
could tell better than he could. On the 
way he told Mary that his mother had 



[215] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



for several weeks taken care of a wounded 
Yankee soldier and that about a week 
ago he had been taken to Louisiana by a 
lady and two " niggers "; and that the 
lady had given hk mother a sum of money 
with which they had bought the cow 
he was driving. This information gave 
her new hope and courage. Trembling 
with excitement she asked herself whether 
it could be possible that she had at last 
found the right clue. 

When she reached the boy's home, 
Mary was well received by the mother 
who gladly offered a night's lodging to 
the exhausted boy, as she supposed Mary 
to be. While her son was doing the 
chores she corroborated in full his story 
and described the wounded soldier, the 
strange lady and her help. The woman's 
description of the soldier, who had still 
been in a helpless condition and unable 
to stir when he was taken South, ap- 
plied more to Fred than to Albert. 



[216] 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



In the fullness of her heart Mary sank 
on her knees and thanked an All-wise 
Power for the first ray of light in the 
gloom of her despair. The woman was 
unable to give the lady's name nor that 
of the sick soldier, but she described ac- 
curately the peculiar carriage in which 
the lady and her attendants had traveled 
and in which they had taken the invalid 
with them. With this indefinite infor- 
mation Mary continued her search the 
next day. 

Words are inadequate to convey a 
true idea of the suffering, deprivations 
and disappointments of this brave girl 
during the next four days. At noon on 
the fifth day she stopped for rest at a 
little hamlet built at a cross-road com- 
prising a few houses and sheds. She had 
traced the carriage with its occupants 
to this cross-road. She entered the 
largest of the cabin-like buildings after 
she had vainly knocked for admittance 



[217 






THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



and beheld a sight that would strike 
terror to the most courageous. In the 
rear of the large room which she had 
entered, there lay upon a cot an ap- 
parently dead man. His head was 
turned towards the door and his wide- 
open eyes were staring at her. As she 
turned to leave the room the light from 
the open door revealed fully the ghastly 
face. It was Fred! Mary recognized 
him by a scar on his forehead. She went 
nearer to him. The suddenness of recog- 
nition and the solemnity of death made 
her falter. Her eyes grew dim, her 
brain was in a whirl, and her whole 
body seemed to sink into a bottomless 
space. She was about to yield to the 
weakness of mind and body that like 
an electric shock pierces the center of 
life and tests the strength of its sinews, 
but the elevating hope of final success 
and the thought of Albert came to her 
rescue and changed the fainting girl to the 



[218] 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



heroine who defies weakness, and who in 
all ages forms the vanguard of humanity. 

Two women, who resided in the build- 
ing, had, in the meantime, returned and 
entered the room. They had seen Mary's 
fainting spell and rushed to her aid, but 
were amazed at her sudden change from 
utter helplessness to a most vigorous 
demonstration of strength. They had 
never seen nor heard of instances in 
which even death had been held at bay 
by the power of the will. Being super- 
stitious they believed the dark and hand- 
some boy before them to be a messenger 
from the evil one, which caused them 
quickly to release their hands and to 
turn to the open door. 

Mary was surprised at their strange 
actions, but was convinced that they 
were the owners of the premises and 
told them who she was and that she had 
come to nurse the sick man if they would 
permit her to stay. She begged the 



[219 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



loan of some woman's clothing until 
she could obtain her trunk from St. 
Louis. The women gladly consented 
and informed her that their husbands 
were Confederate soldiers who had joined 
the army on their wedding day; that the 
Yankees were whipped and the war was 
ended and that they expected their hus- 
bands to return in a few days. Mary 
further learned that the persons who had 
left Fred with these women believed that 
he had died the night before they had 
reached the hamlet and that the young 
lady, when she learned of Fred's death, 
had been thrown into spasms and that 
her attendants had feared for her life. 
They had arranged to leave the corpse 
with the women for burial and to hasten 
South with the young lady to her home. 
The women told Mary that they had 
purchased a coffin with part of the money 
left by the lady and while placing the 
corpse within it the eyes of the dead 



[220 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



man opened and the entire body slowly 
relaxed. The physician who was then 
called said that Fred had a chance to 
recover provided he could be made to 
take some nourishment, and further ex- 
plained that his death-like condition 
had been caused chiefly by blood poison- 
ing from a wound that had not yet 
healed. Mary informed her hostesses 
that Fred was a German and an heir 
to a large estate in Germany and that 
they would be well paid for everything 
they did. These mutual explanations 
inspired confidence between them. One 
of the women's dresses proved to be a 
perfect fit for Mary, who discarded her 
boy's apparel without the least regret, 
although it had well served its purpose. 
In her new attire she stood before the 
pale sleeper. The memory of bygone 
days passed enchantingly before her: 
The strong friendship between Albert 
and Fred, her deep love for Albert and 



[221 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the cruel pain of parting from him. 
Placing her warm hand upon Fred's 
icy cold forehead and kneeling beside 
his couch, she asked in a voice trembling 
with love and woe: 

"Oh, Fred, where is Albert?" 

No answer came. She noticed only a 
slight moving of his eyelids and a slight 
tremor of his body. Bending down so 
he might hear, she exclaimed: 

"Fred, you must recover, you must 
tell me where Albert is! The battle 
begins, for Albert's sake help me to win 
it!" 

Her eyes shone with the fire of this 
resolution; her form grew erect again 
as of old and from the drooping mourner 
she had changed in an instant to the 
brave woman who is determined to win 
the prize at all hazards. As she stood 
before Fred holding his hands and count- 
ing the feeble beating of his pulse, the 
two women entered and saw the beauti- 



[222 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



ful girl meditating beside the couch of 
the apparently doomed soldier. Look- 
ing up, Mary saw the astonishment of 
her new friends and smiled, while the 
latter gazed on the noble, girlish face of 
grace and energy, and attracted by the 
wonderful power displayed in her fea- 
tures, threw their arms around her and 
kissed her as a token of welcome. 

Thereafter began a siege with death. 
It required the utmost exertion of the 
three women. Mary remained with the 
patient day and night. A ball that had 
been lodged dangerously near Fred's 
heart was extracted by a skilled surgeon 
who assigned the presence of the ball as 
the reason for Fred's continued un- 
consciousness. After the operation 
Fred's condition improved physically, but 
his mind remained a blank for a long 
time; nor was he able to regain the 
power of speech, although he made 
many efforts to articulate which were 



[223] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



murmurs only, and not understood by 
any one. 

The clamor of war was around them. 
Confederates as well as Federals passed 
the hamlet at intervals without molest- 
ing the women. An officer, whose hand 
had been bandaged by the women, had 
fastened a metal cross to the door. 
Many sick and wounded soldiers were 
cared for by them; it made no differ- 
ence to which army an invalid belonged; 
in fact, the women frequently did not 
know whether the suffering soldier was 
a Federal or Confederate, consequently 
the commanders of both sides often 
supplied the "Cross Road Hospital" 
with the necessary provisions and medi- 
cines, as they were informed of the living 
heaven between the two surging fires 
of purgatory by some convalescent 
soldier who would, upon his return to 
duty in the field, praise its nurses as 
angels and their work as sacred. 



[224 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



Winter came and Fred's mind was 
still under a cloud; his mutterings were 
still unintelligible, although his body had 
become stronger. On a bright day in 
February, while left alone in the room, 
he slowly arose, and, for the first time 
since he had been wounded, stood upon 
his feet. As Mary entered the room he 
stretched out his hand and distinctly 
uttered "Mary." She went to him, 
with tears of joy running down her cheeks, 
and grasping his hand, asked: 

"Where is Albert?" 

He did not answer immediately, a 
cloud of unspeakable woe passed over 
his face as he pointed to the floor and 
with a tone as solemn as the grave, 
answered, 

"Dead!" 

"Dead," repeated Mary, and she sank 
upon Fred's couch in utter hopelessness. 

Fred's condition became worse after 
his premature exertion; the physician 



15 



[225] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



who was called shook his head in severe 
disapproval of Fred's arbitrary action 
and said that a repetition might prove 
fatal, since the patient had again fallen 
into that stupor which so closely resem- 
bled death. Mary had no time to mourn, 
her whole attention and that of the two 
women and two negroes, a brother and 
sister, who had been engaged as assist- 
ants, were steadily in demand by the 
sick and wounded that were sent from 
the neighboring localities in which both 
opposing armies operated. Mary's power 
of resistance seemed marvelous. She 
often dropped to sleep from sheer ex- 
haustion while at work. The patients 
deeply appreciated the struggle of this 
noble girl in their behalf, and many a 
youth, who owed his life to her tender 
care and skillful treatment, in leaving 
the place, left his love with that angel 
in human form. 

Spring had come and gone and Fred 



[226] 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



was still in danger of a relapse. He, 
more than any other whose life had been 
saved by these unselfish women, had 
noted their exertions and the remarkable 
will power of Mary. When his mind 
had darkened and death asked for ad- 
mission, it was Mary's gentle voice 
asking, "Fred, where are you?" that 
brought him back to consciousness and 
life. He would watch for hours her 
deeds of kindness to the afflicted and 
gradually he felt a passionate love for 
the sweet girl, which made health and 
life the more desirable. 

Albert's name had not been men- 
tioned since his almost fatal effort of 
trying his strength. Mary had at first 
accepted Fred's disclosure of Albert's 
death as an unalterable fact, but as she 
pondered over Fred's condition as it 
must have been since the battle, hope, 
the undying flame of life in the human 
heart, whispered louder and louder that 



[227] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Fred, in his protracted delirium, might 
have been mistaken and that Albert 
might still live; that he might have 
been severely wounded and, like Fred, 
might have been saved by some sister 
of mercy. 

Eternal hope! Who would live with- 
out thee! How many hearts crushed 
with affliction hast thou saved! How 
many hands, directed by despair, hast 
thou stayed on their way to destruc- 
tion! 

The spring and summer of 1862 had 
brought a rich harvest of blood; the 
battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas had 
been fought and won by the Federals. 
The immediate result of the victory had 
been the saving of Missouri for the 
Union. The battles around Richmond 
in Virginia had been less successful for 
the Federals and consequently the danger 
of the capture of Washington was im- 
minent. A feeling of distrust prevailed 



[228 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



in the North similar to that which had 
existed after the first battle of Bull 
Run. The clamor, "Let the South 
depart in peace," again became the cry 
in the North by politicians of every 
class, whereas the patriots that had not 
yet enlisted and were able to fight, 
joined the army; thus proving their 
love of country by deeds and leaving 
to stump speakers and to stump poli- 
ticians the task of taking care of the 
wind. 

As soon as Fred was able to write, 
Mary informed the St. Louis bank of 
his convalescence. In a few days two 
gentlemen, of whom one was a notary 
public, appeared at the hospital and in- 
troduced themselves to Mary and Fred 
as the representatives of the bank in 
St. Louis, producing at the same time 
the necessary vouchers. They had come 
for the purpose of obtaining from Fred 
a power of attorney for some person in 



[229 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Germany who was to serve as Fred's 
agent and manager of the large estate 
which had been left him by his mother. 
After the business had been completed, 
Fred asked them for a private interview 
at which he made his last will and testa- 
ment in favor of Mary Graham. 

The successful completion of his per- 
sonal affairs had a remarkable effect 
upon Fred. He had been tormented 
about the disposition of his property 
in the event of sudden death and had 
for some time resolved to turn over to 
Mary his entire expected wealth in 
Germany as a token of his love, but he 
had been unable to devise a safe plan of 
executing his desire until the arrival of 
the representatives of a responsible bank. 

His mind, now freed from this care, 
had won a victory over his body; the 
thought that Mary's future could under 
no circumstances be threatened with 
the care for her daily bread as had been 



[230 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



her mother's lot, seemed to drive the 
blood more rapidly through his veins; 
his appetite returned and his eyes re- 
flected the inner glow of this very change. 
The physician and the nurses noted 
with astonishment this rapid transition 
from threatening death to vigorous life, 
which the expert called a freak of nature 
and the nurses called a miracle. 

How merciful and yet how just is 
Nature in her disposition of pain and 
joy! During the terrific suffering caused 
by his wounds, man is longing for death 
as a deliverer. In his gradual recovery 
of health he sees the beauties of heaven 
and earth, he feels the unspeakable joy of 
returning health and with the love which 
is akin to that love of Him who died on 
the cross, and who in the pangs of death 
asked that even His murderers should 
be forgiven, man, in the disposition of 
an All-wise Power, is also ready and 
willing to forgive every foe. 



231] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Fred gained in health and strength, 
In less than a month from the time he 
had made his will, he was able to help 
himself. During that time he had oc- 
casional conversations with Mary about 
their old home, but both refrained from 
mentioning Albert's name, although each 
felt that the question of his life or death 
must soon be determined beyond any 
doubt. 

Mary could not possibly avoid seeing 
the pure and tender love that Fred 
expressed in every action and in every 
look. She saw that rising passion with 
a trembling fear and avoided as much as 
possible his approaches. The calamity 
of Fred's growing love almost broke 
her down. She was convinced that no 
living man could take Albert's place in 
her affections, even if she had the most 
positive proof of his death. In this 
almost unbearable condition of her mind 
she finally resolved to demand of Fred 



[232 



SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 



what positive knowledge he had of Al- 
bert's death, and, if there could be no 
doubt, to show her where he was buried. 
On the next morning she invited Fred 
to a private conversation in the arbor 
that had been built by the convalescents 
of the Cross Road Hospital. 

Fred obeyed sadly. In compliance 
he related the events which had taken 
place since Albert and he had enlisted 
at St. Louis and which are stated in the 
next chapter. Mary listened through- 
out with an interest which seemed to 
drive every drop of blood from her 
countenance and to rend the walls of 
her agitated heart. 



[233] 



Chapter XIX 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON S CREEK. 

IT now becomes necessary to trace 
some of the events which took 
place after the members of the 
club had left their home. 

Shortly before reaching St. Louis, upon 
the invitation of the captain, they held 
a farewell meeting in the latter's private 
office. At this meeting they resolved 
and sacredly pledged themselves to hold 
a reunion on July 4, 1865, in the old 
log house. 

When they landed at St. Louis the 
condition in Missouri was extremely 
critical. 

To save southern Missouri, General 
Lyon had been ordered to take command 
of all the Union forces in that state. 
Encouraged by the Confederates' success 



234 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON S CREEK 

at Bull Run, Generals McCulloch, Price 
and Pierce, with about sixteen thousand 
troops that had been gathered in the 
states of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas, 
were detailed by the Confederate govern- 
ment to co-operate with Governor Jack- 
son of Missouri in order to retain the 
southern half of that state for the Con- 
federacy. To oppose these forces Gen- 
eral Lyon had, all told, not quite eight 
thousand men, mostly home guards, a 
few battalions of regular infantry and 
even from this small force, General 
Scott, then the commander-in-chief of 
all the Union forces, had ordered the 
cavalry to be sent East. 

Our friends were immediately sent 
toward Springfield, where General Lyon's 
army was operating. Albert and Fred 
reported to Captain Plummer of the 
regular infantry, while the other members 
of the club were assigned to other divi- 
sions. 

[235] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



On August 9, 1861, the Union troops 
in and around Springfield were ordered 
to be in readiness to march at any time 
against the enemy who had approached 
the city within ten miles. At twilight 
in the evening of that day the small 
army of eight thousand men courage- 
ously left Springfield to meet the Con- 
federate army of sixteen thousand, in 
order to at least check their march to 
the North, if they could not defeat them, 
owing to the inequality of numbers. 

"There will be no Bull Run this time/* 
said Albert as he handed Fred the musket 
which had been carefully examined by 
the two friends, and then both hastened 
to join their company. 

It is not the intention to describe the 
entire battle which commenced shortly 
after daybreak on the next morning, and 
which terminated in the evening by an 
orderly withdrawal of the Union forces 
to Springfield; nor to describe the death 



[236] 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK 



of General Lyon at the head of his 
troops while he cheered them on to over- 
come the unequal numerical contest by 
unequaled bravery. 

Of the many tragedies during the war 
only one is singled out that is no more 
nor less tragic than many others, but that 
has thrown its shadow over the chasm 
of half a century and is still remembered 
and felt by the few whom death has 
spared, and who will bear willing testi- 
mony of the heroism of its actors. 

Plummer's battalion, to which Albert 
and Fred belonged, was about the first 
division that came into action. With 
an irresistible determination they threw 
the opposing Confederate forces into 
disorder and partial flight. Having 
crossed a corn-field and being hidden 
by a dense thicket they were in the act 
of capturing the nearest Confederate 
battery when the enemy received en- 
forcements of two regiments from Louis- 



[237] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



iana and Arkansas and they, in turn, 
drove back the Unionists. 

In the heat of the battle and by force 
of circumstances Plumrner's battalion 
had divided into many squads while 
attacking and pursuing the enemy. The 
sudden appearance and forward move- 
ment of the new Confederate troops 
was hotly contested by Albert and Fred 
and five more of their company. They 
were somewhat sheltered by the under- 
brush and opposed the enemy with fear- 
ful effect, checking their advance. 

Neither Albert nor Fred nor any of 
their five comrades had noticed the 
gradual withdrawal of the Union forces 
and the gradual massing of Confederates 
in front of them until it was too late. 
The small Federal force was soon com- 
pletely cut off and could have honorably 
surrendered if that word had ever been 
thought of among them. 

They dispersed quickly, since they were 



[238 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK 



now the targets of the approaching 
enemy. Fred and Albert, being still 
close together, had almost miraculously 
escaped the multitude of bullets aimed 
at them. At last Fred fell, hit by three 
bullets; a few moments later a hail of 
lead struck Albert and he sank noise- 
lessly down to that eternal sleep. At 
the same moment a Confederate officer 
broke through the heavy thicket and 
knelt beside the dying foe; casting one 
look at the face on which death was now 
rapidly pressing its mark, the officer, 
in a tone that would unman the bravest 
of the brave, a tone in which trembled 
all the tortures of hell and the love of 
heaven, cried, "Albert!" and from the 
dying boy's lips, from the immeasura- 
ble depth of his heart, came the word 
"John," and then those lips closed for- 
ever. 

John, for it was he, buried his face 
upon his dead friend's breast and wept; 



[239] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



even the fierce men from the South 
under his command stood awe-striken 
before the bloody harvest. 

War, however, is relentless! The Con- 
federates, who had driven the Federals 
before them, were forced to stop in the 
pursuit and retreat over the gained 
ground before a perfect deluge of shot 
and shell from DuBois' battery. Press- 
ing a kiss upon Albert's brow John 
quickly arose and made a forward move- 
ment towards the hill from whence the 
death-bringing missiles came. This 
rapid change must have been imme- 
diately noticed by the vigilant Federal 
commander, since the next shot from 
there struck John, killing him and two 
of his men instantly and wounding many 
others. Upon the Confederates' retreat 
before such a rain of death a gigantic 
son of Louisiana picked up John's body 
and placed it beside Albert's. 

Eventually the Confederates were 



[240] 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK 



driven back within their lines. During 
the continuance of the battle neither 
army permitted the other to occupy the 
first battle-field that had been enriched 
by the blood of as valiant soldiers on 
both sides as ever waged a contest. 
There the two friends lay undisturbed 
in the sacred stillness of death, guarded 
from all sides by the cannons of the 
North and South. 

On the next day, the Confederates 
being then in possession of the late 
battle-field, the burial of the dead began. 
The detachment that had been under 
the immediate command of John during 
the battle and that had witnessed the 
tragic death of the two friends, insisted 
that one coffin and one grave should 
hold both and that their remains should 
be embalmed to make their future re- 
moval possible. 

Midway between where the two friends 
had fallen their grave was dug; as the 



16 



[241] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



coffin was lowered and the blue and the 
gray were forever united in Mother 
Earth, it was not the glare of the sun 
alone which made the sons of Louisiana 
shade their eyes. No guns were fired 
over the grave, a prayer only was ut- 
tered by some one for a Union of the 
North and South as true as had been 
the friendship of the two foes below and 
as lasting as their union would be in 
death. 

As we know, Fred's wounds did not 
prove fatal; the loss of blood together 
with the prevailing heat caused him to 
faint and appear like a corpse. Even 
after he had recovered consciousness 
he could not stir. His condition re- 
sembled a living death, although he dis- 
tinguished the sounds about him and 
had recognized John's presence. When 
the Confederates were in turn driven 
back, a shell exploded near him hitting 
a Confederate as he was in the act of 



[242] 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK 



stepping over Fred's apparently dead 
body. The result was grewsome; the 
victim, with one-half of his head blown 
off and the brain oozing from the other 
half, dropped instantly dead upon Fred 
and lay there until the next morning, 
when the Confederates in burying the 
dead, found to their surprise a "Yankee" 
still showing signs of life, pinned under 
their comrade's dead body. 

Fred owed the further special care 
that was taken of him by the enemy to 
the fact that he had fallen near Albert 
and that it was presumed that he, too, 
must have been a friend of John's. 
Fred was accordingly left with a poor 
family living near the battle-field, with 
instructions from the physician as to the 
further care of the wounded man. Two 
bullets, which had been extracted from 
his body, were also turned over to the 
family with directions to hand them to 
the patient if he should recover or to 



[243] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



put them into his coffin if he should 
die. 

The news of the battle of Wilson's 
Creek reached Elma several weeks before 
she received the report of John's death. 
She had never ceased to love that tall, 
chivalrous man whose outward appear- 
ance impressed the beholders at once 
with the honesty of the man and the 
kindness of his nature. Elma had long 
ago repented of her vain and selfish 
treatment of him at the time when he 
had offered her the most visible proof 
of his honest love, and she, in a fit of 
self-admiration, had rudely rejected the 
form in which the proof had been given. 

When she heard of his death on the 
field of battle, life's greatest and sweetest 
boon seemed to have vanished from her 
forever. She at once set out to recover 
his remains and bring them home for 
burial, but failed to find them; the 
soldiers of his command who had been 



[244 



THE BATTLE OF WILSON S CREEK 

present at his burial, in the belief that 
the war had ended, had left the service. 
The only other living witness, as far as 
she could ascertain, was Fred, who was, 
as yet, unable to give her any information. 
She thereupon took Fred with her in 
order to give him better care than he 
could receive from the poor family who 
had been entrusted with him, as has been 
related in a former chapter. 



[245] 



Chapter XX 

FOUND AT LAST 

RETURNING now to Fred and 
Mary in the arbor at the " Cross 
Road Hospital," where Fred had 
ended the description of the battle and 
its bloody results and was explaining 
his semi-conscious condition after he had 
been wounded. Mary was still not 
fully convinced of Albert's death and 
attributed Fred's impression of the scenes 
that followed after the battle to the 
hallucinations of a disordered mind. She 
was determined to obtain absolute proof 
of Albert's death; for that purpose she 
ascertained Elma's address and sent a 
messenger to her with the information 
that Fred, whom Elma had left as dead, 
had nearly recovered and had agreed 
to search for Albert and John's grave, 
further asking her to join them in the 

[246] 



FOUND AT LAST 



search which would be instituted upon her 
arrival and for which preoarations had 
been made. 

The messenger returned in company 
with Elma and two of her servants. 
She was handsome; the subdued mourn- 
ing for John was still traceable in her 
classic features. As the two girls were 
standing face to face, both being the 
innocent victims of the cruel war, and 
both harboring an undying love for the 
two friends in an unknown grave, the 
tragedy of the moment overpowered 
them. Although they were strangers 
their tears commingled as they em- 
braced each other, yielding to the sym- 
pathetic longing of true women to cling to 
another heart that throbs in like anguish. 

Preparations were hastily made to 
leave within a few days. When the 
time arrived for parting, Mary's two 
faithful co-workers, whose husbands had 
been killed in battle, were frantic with 



[U7 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



grief at Mary's leaving. The promise 
that she would soon return did not lessen 
their grief; Fred's bountiful payment 
for their services had no effect upon 
them; they cried and moaned for that 
angel who had miraculously appeared 
at their threshold and who was now 
returning to that place where hatred 
and murder were unknown. 

After a few days' journey they came 
in sight of the battle-field of Wilson's 
Creek. Fred left Mary and Elma at the 
home of the old lady who had been his 
first attendant. They were received 
with undisguised joy by mother and son 
who could not believe that the home- 
less boy of 1861 and Mary, the dis- 
tinguished looking lady of 1862, were one 
and the same, until Mary reminded 
them of the circumstances of their first 
meeting. 

Fred and the servants went to work 
immediately, searching for the location 



[248 



FOUND AT LAST 



of the thicket and corn-field where Al- 
bert and John had fallen. Now that 
Fred was called upon to produce the 
proof of their deaths, he began to doubt 
the facts, as he had pictured them in 
his memory. After a long and vain 
search among the fields and woods, 
which now looked so remarkably strange 
to him, he became convinced that with- 
out help from some one who was better 
acquainted with the landscape and the 
burial of the dead after the battle, he 
would never find the exact spot where 
the two friends had been buried. Or 
was it true, as Mary indicated, that 
the death and burial of his friends was a 
dream only, and that Mary with her 
doubts and her indestructible faith in 
God's love and justice, was right and 
he wrong? The torment of approach- 
ing insanity was upon him and utterly 
exhausted he fell asleep. 

After many hours he awoke. Elma's 



[249] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



servants and the widow's son were near 
by and were glad of his awakening. 
The long sleep had refreshed him and 
driven away the threatening clouds of 
a disordered mind. With renewed vigor 
he resumed the search; questioning the 
boy about the location of the last year's 
corn-field he was astonished at his ready 
answer, and became more astonished 
when the boy told him that he had helped 
to bury the dead on the next day after 
the battle. Being further questioned 
he remembered distinctly that the sol- 
diers had wept as they buried an officer 
and a "Yankee" in the same grave. 
Upon Fred's request the boy led them 
at once to the spot, nearly eighty rods 
away, and pointed to the grave after 
having cleared away a lot of dead 
branches and leaves. 

The finding of the grave and the cor- 
roboration of Fred's story by the boy 
was received by Mary with the calm 



[250] 



FOUND AT LAST 



with which the deer, worn out by the 
chase, receives the mortal blow. The 
last hope gone! Tearless, holding her 
feverish beating temples, she sought a 
lonely place to bury that last hope and 
to hide from the world the raging of 
the fierce battle within her. After hours 
of anguish a faint ray of hope found once 
more its way through the night of her de- 
spair ! Was it not possible that the soldier 
who was buried with John was not 
Albert? Who had identified him? Cling- 
ing to this sweet delusion she fell asleep. 
On the next morning the bodies were 
placed in the two coffins which had been 
procured from Springfield; before the 
final closing Fred asked Mary and Elma 
whether they wished to see the remains; 
both assented. At the appointed time, 
in company with their attendants and 
the widow and her son, the mourning 
girls approached the coffins. Elma took 
but one look at John's calm face, then 



[251] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



fell upon her knees, asked his forgiveness 
and entreated him to wait for her. 

Mary stood silently beside Albert's 
outstretched form; her eyes were cen- 
tered upon his genial face which even 
death had failed to rob of its beauty. 

Elma at last arose and fled to the car- 
riage where the widow tried to comfort 
her as a mother would her child. Mary 
still remained at Albert's side; the land- 
scape was bathed in the golden sunshine 
and beckoned her to live. Fred had 
anxiously watched her; not a tear 
dimmed her eyes; not a muscle seemed 
to move within her; she appeared like 
a marble statue watching death. Fred 
urged her to join Elma, told her that 
their country demanded her services, 
reminded her of a mother's love and 
anguish, and still she did not answer 
nor give a sign to indicate that she had 
heard him. 

The silence became oppressive and 



[252 



FOUND AT LAST 



unbearable to Fred. As he was in the 
act of leading her from the fatal spot, 
she turned to him and in a voice as 
sweet as a seraph's, said: 

"Yes, Fred, your friend Albert is 
dead ! God was jealous of him and called 
him home. Please leave me alone for 
an hour. I must decide within myself 
to whom I must pray or whom I must 
curse at such a sight." 

Every one honored her wish and left. 
Fred turned once more toward the gloomy 
scene before the trees would hide the 
view, and saw Mary kneeling beside the 
coffin, lifting her hands to the heaven 
above. 

Upon their return Mary was found 
dead beside her lover; her head lay on 
his breast; her face, now really angelic, 
showed no trace of pain; her left hand 
held two letters, one directed to Fred 
and the other to her mother; her right 
hand, touching her lover's forehead and 



[253] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



eyes, still held the pencil with which 
the letters had been written. 

"Mary, Mary!" cried Fred when he 
beheld the girl he worshipped in the 
awful majesty of death. He grasped 
her hands, from which the warmth of 
life had not yet flown, as if to tear her 
away from the dark abyss of death. 
Vain endeavor! In the agony of those 
moments he condemned Mary's selfish- 
ness of having crossed to the other 
shore without him. 

The letter to Fred was not sealed; it 
requested him to bury the lovers in the 
same coffin and in the same grave in 
which the two friends had been bedded, 
and to forward the letter directed to her 
mother to its destination. This was 
done. Fred, in addition, erected a 
monument upon the grave of the two 
lovers; he also gathered all the property 
which had been owned and left by Mary 
and together with a large sum of money 



[254 



FOUND AT LAST 



forwarded them to Mrs. Graham, and 
then returned to the army with the in- 
tention of selling his life at the highest 
possible price. 

Elma had John's remains sent to her 
home and buried upon her father's plan- 
tation. She had a modest mausoleum 
erected over his grave and made it the 
center of a small park which her two 
faithful servants cared for under her 
directions. She never married and yet 
she lived a useful life. With the tenacity 
of love's memory she recalled every 
conversation with her betrothed, every 
principle he had demonstrated and every 
ideal he had worshipped. Thus John's 
grave became to her the fountain of 
noble and great thoughts, which she 
fastened and molded in that sanctuary 
with the pen and scattered broadcast 
over the regenerated South. 

Mrs. Graham received Mary's tear- 
stained letter, and for some time was un- 



[255] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



able to comprehend its crushing con- 
tents; Lucy feared for her mother's 
reason during this trying time, until 
the strong woman, like hundreds and 
thousands of other mothers, accepted 
the inevitable for her country's sake. 
During the club's reunion in 1865, upon 
the urgent solicitation of its members 
to preserve the letter, she permitted it 
to be copied and a copy to be delivered 
to each member. The original letter 
was sacredly kept by her until her death, 
which occurred on Christmas day in the 
year 1902. When the dark messenger 
had spread its shadow over her noble 
face she requested the letter to be laid 
upon her bosom; soon thereafter, with 
a smile of welcome, as if Mary were 
standing on the distant brink of that 
dark river, the mother also crossed it. 

The publication of the letter at the 
present time, nearly fifty years after 
Mary's death, should not be considered 



[256] 



FOUND AT LAST 



as a profane lifting of the veil which 
covers a stricken daughter's immortal 
love for her mother and the despair that 
drove a lovely and beloved girl to seek 
death as the last hope. 

Dearest Mother:— Albert's coffin serves me as a 
table while I am writing my farewell to the only being 
in this world who has a right either to condemn or to 
applaud my act. When your sweet, searching eyes read 
these lines your daughter will be cozily bedded with 
her lover in the bosom of Mother Earth. Do not be 
jealous, dearest Mother! It must be sweet to rest down 
there, away from all turmoil, hatred and murder. Oh! 
I am so weary of life! Your first-born has reached her 
goal. When Albert fell, my life was canceled. Had he 
died as the victim of disease I could have continued to 
live in the thought that he had paid the debt of nature. 
But he was murdered by his country which he loved so 
well! His uniform, now his shroud, is still stained with 
his precious blood! 

No, Albert, your girl is coming! With the parting 
kiss you took her soul; now take her body also. 

Farewell my dear, dear Mother! A wild desire seizes 
me to ask your forgiveness! I know you will forgive 
me. You would not force me to live without hope; to 
plod through the dreary desert before me, ever yearn- 
ing for my lover's kind face, his soul-lit eyes and strong 
arms and never, never to find them above the sod! 



17 



[257] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



My sweet, sweet Mother! The earth is gliding from 
me! I press my lips upon your sacred name and, with- 
out pain, cross to the other shore to meet my lover. 
Farewell! 

Your Mary. 



[258] 






Chapter XXI 

THE REUNION 

ON the morning of July 4, 1865, 
the old log house on the banks 
of the Mississippi wore a festive 
dress. Garlands of oak leaves, inter- 
twined with flowers and ivy, decorated 
the venerable building, the birthplace 
of the club that bore its name. 

A cozy cottage had been lately erected 
nearby, which, in connection with a small 
garden, was surrounded by a tasty and 
well-kept picket-fence. Mrs. Graham, 
the owner of the cottage, her daughter, 
Lucy, and Mr. Henry, the village post- 
master, were standing in front of the log 
house engaged in conversation; suddenly 
they were disturbed by a whistle and the 
rumbling of a train. Lucy with her old- 
time zeal interrupted the two older 
persons by clapping her hands and ex- 

[259] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



claiming, "The^boys have come! The 
whole village is hurrying to the depot 
to receive them." 

Yes, the boys have come, but not all 
of them! At that thought Mrs. Graham 
turned pale and fled to her room where, 
upon her knees, she wept bitterly. The 
sun, however, shone brightly, the birds 
were chirping their morning hymn and 
the crowd of villagers were joyfully 
welcoming the members of the "Log 
House Club" and accompanying them 
to the venerable building which the post- 
master had named the cradle of the club. 

Once more the spacious dining-room 
was thronged with the familiar faces, 
though changed by age, pain and suffer- 
ing. The furniture had been kept intact 
in anticipation of this reunion. In the 
place of Hugo Brenner, the last presiding 
officer, Ralph Bowdoin was chosen presi- 
dent and Lucy Graham its secretary. 

Ralph took the chair and suggested 



[260] 



THE REUNION 



that the responses to the roll-call should 
be made sufficiently exhaustive as to 
show upon the company's book, for the 
benefit of the members and their rela- 
tives, the cause, place of death and burial 
of any member since deceased, and to 
name the nature of the sickness or 
wounds, if any, and where they had 
been received, of the living members. 
The president's suggestion was approved 
and the secretary was asked to call the 
roll. 

Lucy arose to get the company's book 
that had been last used by Albert. She 
found it safely stowed away in Albert's 
wardrobe upstairs with other things be- 
longing to the beloved dead. She made 
a short entry therein and then with a 
visible effort steadied her voice, brushed 
away the tears and read: 

"John Gibson." 

"Killed in the battle of Wilson's Creek, 
and buried in Louisiana," answered Fred. 



[261] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



"Albert Burdett," called the trembling 
girl, with a voice that seemed to issue 
through an ocean of tears. 

"Killed in the battle of Wilson's Creek 
and buried where he fell," was Fred's 
slow answer. 

"Fred Lambert." 

"Present. Received three rifle-shot 
wounds, one in left shoulder and two in 
abdomen, at the battle of Wilson's Creek, 
also a sabre cut in right arm at the battle 
of Gettysburg," answered Fred. 

"Byron Burns," cried Lucy in a com- 
manding tone that would have done 
justice to a corporal. 

"Present, without having been wounded 
or sick," responded Byron. 

"Paul Gerard." 

"Wounded in the knee at the battle 
of Lookout Mountain," answered the 
former law student, whose peculiar limp- 
ing walk was now explained. 

"Ralph Bowdoin." 



[262] 



THE REUNION 



" Miraculously escaped from fever, also 
had left ear shortened by rifle ball at the 
battle of Spottsylvania Court House," 
answered Ralph quite cheerfully. No 
one present had noticed Ralph's defective 
ear until this announcement was made, 
whereupon he received his comrades' 
congratulations for his narrow escape 
from instant death. 

"CarlKron." 

"Killed in the battle of Mills Springs," 
answered Peter Ivan, who had been an 
eye-witness of Carl's death and his aven- 
ger in the fierce bayonet charge that had 
secured the victory for the Federals. 

"Lou Johnson." 

"Not heard from since the battle of 
Wilson's Creek, after which he was re- 
ported among the missing," answered 
Peter Ivan. 

"Hugo Brenner." 

"Died of malarial fever contracted 
among the southern swamps," answered 



263] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



the presiding officer, who had been treated 
in the same hospital for the same disease. 

" Peter Ivan." 

"Present and unharmed," responded 
the lucky Hungarian who had gone 
through an ordeal in the old world and 
another in the new without having re- 
ceived a scratch. 

"Mrs. Graham." 

"Present," answered the worthy ma- 
tron, as all eyes were directed upon her 
careworn face. 

"Mary Graham." The secretary's 
voice, while pronouncing her unfortunate 
sister's name, was as soft as the touch 
with which the Angel of Death opens 
the portals of eternity to the centenarian. 

"Killed by despair and buried at 
Wilson's Creek with Albert Burdett," 
answered Fred with an involuntary sigh 
and with his eyes shut as if he would 
thus blot from his memory the last 
tragical scene on that battle-field. 



[264] 



THE REUNION 



"Lucy Graham," called the secretary, 
thereby breaking the silence which, after 
the announcement of Mary's death, lay 
like a stifling cloud upon those present. 

" Here," answered Lucy. Having care- 
fully chronicled her answer she announced 
Carlo's feat of saving the two children, 
also his death, and his burial in the 
village cemetery. 

This announcement created a sensation. 
Every member related some remarkable 
act of Carlo's, spoke of his faithfulness, 
of his forethought and cunning. The 
memory of him became even at that 
moment a blessing to his former masters 
and companions, since their united love, 
admiration and sympathy for him al- 
leviated their grief for those sleepers in 
southern soil and cleared the atmosphere 
for the day's festival. A resolution was 
then passed that Carlo's death should 
be recorded like that of any other 
member. 



[265 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



It was now eleven o'clock in the fore- 
noon. Mrs. Graham invited the club 
to enjoy the next two hours in a social 
talk and in visiting the scenes of their 
former usefulness; admonishing them to 
return at one o'clock sharp and enjoy 
a family dinner as of old. In the distant 
city cannons were booming in recogni- 
tion of the day. The new depot and 
station that had been built near the 
last grading done by the boys, was taste- 
fully decorated and was carefully ex- 
amined by them. They were welcomed 
by the depot agent in true Western 
style. 

The people of the village greeted them 
with such genuine friendship that it 
brought tears to the eyes of the boys. 
Union flags floated everywhere. They 
raised over Rev. Gilbert's grave a beauti- 
ful flag and also decorated the grave of 
Harry Elwell's mother who had died the 
year before, believing that her son would 



[266 



THE REUNION 



soon return, although the people in the 
village knew that Harry had heroically 
died on the battle-field of Chancellors- 
ville. 

Punctually at one o'clock they returned 
to the log house. In entering they mar- 
veled at the remarkable change of the 
interior. The old dining-room had been 
profusely decorated with pictures, flowers 
and garlands, and the table was loaded 
with viands of the choicest kinds. While 
they were still admiring the pleasant 
changes in the familiar room, Rev. Colby 
entered from the adjoining room, fol- 
lowed by Mrs. Graham, Lucy, Mrs. 
Henry and daughter Anna, and a strange 
young lady, who, leaning on Mrs. Gra- 
ham's shoulder, blushed and wept al- 
ternately. All were carefully dressed 
and their actions and features were as 
expectant as if some unusual event were 
about to happen. 

Those of the members who were not 



[267 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



in the confidence of the ladies were dum- 
founded at the strange spectacle, and 
viewed the proceedings as if they ex- 
pected an enemy's battery to open fire 
on them at once. Yet no enemy was 
near. The reverend gentleman, whose 
snow-white hair formed a pleasing con- 
trast to his smiling face, cheerfully re- 
marked that on such a day of days some- 
thing more than a waste of powder 
should be the order of the day; that the 
commemoration of the birth of this 
nation, since the grave for Slavery had 
been successfully dug, and the prepara- 
tions for its final extinction and burial 
had been fully made, had a holier sig- 
nification than heretofore, and that on 
such a day it would be eminently proper 
that the most sacred action of all the 
sacred actions of mankind should be 
performed, and that in this instance 
the fittest place for its performance 
would be the birthplace of those high 



[268 



THE REUNION 



ideals which the Log House Club had 
adopted and had scattered broadcast 
over the land. 

The company seated themselves while 
the minister, like a patriarch of old, in 
a voice trembling with emotion, spoke 
of the large list of sacrifices that the 
club had made. 

"Weep not," he continued, although 
his own eyes were moist; "from their 
graves, and from the graves of others 
like them, has at last arisen the Goddess 
of Liberty freed from the chains of 
slavery! The blood that was spent 
in the cleansing process is holy blood! 
Wherever the slain may be assembled, 
whether in the bosom of the ever gen- 
erous Mother Earth or in the promised 
gorgeous labyrinth of heaven, they are 
happy and expect you to continue the 
fight of breaking the other fetters of 
mankind and yet ever jealously guard 
the liberty which their blood has aided 



269] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



to establish. Even the blood of Lincoln, 
whose only fault was his excess of love 
for humanity, like the blood of the 
One who demanded that we should love 
our enemies, was required to complete 
the victory. 'It is done.' The blood 
of the noblest of mankind has set the 
stamp of immortality upon Liberty and 
she will never die!" 

" Farewell, brave comrades on the other 
shore," the speaker exclaimed with a 
steadier voice, and pointing upwards, 
"and farewell also to you, sweet maid, 
who healed the wounds of others, but 
who bled to death from the wound a 
cruel fate had inflicted upon you. The 
wheel of progress demanded your blood 
to mingle with the hero blood of your 
brothers upon its journey through un- 
told centuries and through jungles of 
vice and superstition! We ask you to 
bless our work to-day as we bless the 

[270] 



THE REUNION 



work of Him whose ways we cannot 
fathom. Amen." 

The "Amen" was repeated by those 
present and seemed to brighten the sad 
faces in the room. 

The speaker then unfolded a paper 
which he held in his hand and asked the 
persons whose names were called to step 
forward. The excitement among the 
assembled friends was now intense; at 
this moment Mr. Henry, the postmaster, 
entered and was welcomed by the com- 
pany. 

The minister then called the names of 
the following persons, who placed them- 
selves before him in the order named: 
"Byron Burns and Lucy Graham." 
"Paul Gerard and Anna Henry." 
"Ralph Bowdoin and Ruth Burdett." 
The minister turned to the rest of the 
company and asked them to serve as 
witnesses to the marriage of the three 
couples before them. All arose. The 



[271] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



ceremony was performed, recorded in 
the company's book and duly acknowl- 
edged by the witnesses. 

Mrs. Graham, before asking the com- 
pany to be seated, explained to the un- 
initiated that upon her urgent request 
the contracting parties and their rela- 
tives had maintained a complete silence 
as to the coming events and asked to 
be forgiven for having withheld such 
interesting news from them. 

"As we grow older," she added, "we 
are growing more cautious, more skepti- 
cal, if you please; for that reason I 
feared that if the intended union of these 
young people had been generally known 
some unforeseen event might have in- 
terfered and destroyed the realization 
of their wishes, as wishes of like impor- 
tance, frequently expressed, have often 
been destroyed." 

A general amnesty was cheerfully ex- 
tended to Mrs. Graham and her allies, 



[272] 



THE REUNION 



and many compliments were bestowed 
on all the ladies for the extraordinary 
feat of keeping such a secret for such a 
long time. 

This pleasant exchange of civilities 
brought about a marked change in their 
conversation. Life with its duties and 
rewards asserted itself and demanded 
the sunshine of the living presence. 

Encouraged by this change, Ralph 
Bowdoin introduced his wife, Albert's 
sister, Ruth, and informed them that she 
had been a nurse in a Federal hospital 
in the South to which Ralph had been 
conveyed as a doomed man, having con- 
tracted what was thought to be a hope- 
less case of malarial fever. The phy- 
sicians had left him with the nurses 
without instructions. Ruth's special at- 
tention was directed to him by his calling 
her "Albert," when she was leaning 
over him to arrange his pillow. Think- 
ing of her brother and his friends and 



18 



[273 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



that the invalid might be a member of 
the famed club of which Albert had 
written her, she gave him the closest 
attention. He fully recovered, notwith- 
standing the physician's death sentence, 
and before leaving the hospital he made 
the fair Ruth an offer to dedicate his life 
to her, which dedication was accepted. 

The blushing bride, as beautiful in her 
modesty as she was in her features and 
form, fled to Mrs. Graham, who em- 
braced her and called her daughter. 

Paul Gerard now introduced his wife 
as the postmaster's pretty daughter. 
He asserted that ever since she, as her 
father's deputy, had delivered to him 
a long looked-for letter from his mother, 
there had been an unwritten contract 
between them that some day he would 
come and ask her to be his wife, and that 
this contract, during the war, had been 
put in writing and properly signed. 

Byron Burns was also compelled to 



[274] 



THE REUNION 



betray some of the secrets of his court- 
ship. He introduced his wife, Lucy 
Graham, as his former pupil in algebra, 
who could not comprehend the wisdom 
and possibility of taking something from 
nothing, and who had, as a special con- 
dition, made him pledge to strike that 
study from the family's bill of intellect- 
ual fare before she would speak the 
decisive word. 

Further complications were cut off 
by the command of dinner; the company 
gathered around the familiar table, at 
which Rev. Colby occupied the seat of 
honor. The conversation during the 
meal was more fascinating than the 
delicacies of the table, although the latter 
were excellent. The reminiscences from 
the past life of the club and the soldiers' 
life in camp and battle, together with 
the interesting remarks by Rev. Colby 
and the ladies, presented a wonderful 
variety of entertainment. 



[275] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Before closing the eventful festival 
with a short prayer, Rev. Colby ex- 
pressed himself with great satisfaction 
at the extraordinary results of the work- 
ings of the club, which had manifested 
themselves chiefly in the pointed and 
condensed narratives of personal events 
in which the respective speakers had 
taken a part. He attributed this gentle- 
manly instinct to the observance of the 
"Golden Rule," which prohibits the 
lenghty, therefore tedious and deaden- 
ing, parading of such narratives before 
a suffering audience, but which encour- 
ages the condensed expressions of facts 
in order to create a revival of other facts 
and ideas, which, if related briefly and 
to the point, thus leaving their vital 
powers intact, will lead to moments in 
life that are never forgotten, and that, 
even in the remote future, may enrich 
other moments and become the germs of 
noble and great deeds. 



276 



THE REUNION 



Upon Mrs. Graham's invitation the 
members of the club met at her cottage 
on the next morning. 

Ralph Bowdoin had accepted a posi- 
tion as an assistant agent at the village 
railway station and was to share the 
cottage with Mrs. Graham and Ruth, 
his wife. A strange, passionate love had 
seized Mrs. Graham for Ruth, who closely 
resembled Albert and whose actions re- 
minded her of Mary. 

Byron Burns and Lucy were to leave 
for a distant state in which Byron had 
accepted a professorship in the higher 
mathematics. Lucy, at the final part- 
ing, threw herself into her mother's 
arms and declared she would never have 
consented to leave her if Ruth had not 
pledged herself to take Mary's place. 

Paul Gerard and his bride were to 
leave for Paul's old home where his 
parents and a partnership in a lucrative 
law practice awaited him. 



[277] 



THE LOG HOUSE CLUB 



Fred Lambert, formerly the merriest 
of all, was now the saddest. Upon Mrs. 
Graham's question how she could ever 
repay him, he answered, by giving him 
Mary's picture and the ribbon she wore 
on the day the club left for the war. 
Both were given him. 

The other members scattered as yet 
aimlessly over the Republic which they 
had helped to save. 

At noon on the next day the whole 
village turned out for a general hand- 
shaking with the departing members 
of the club and wished them Godspeed 
on their second journey. A beautiful 
wreath, encircling the words "The Log 
House Club," had been fastened to the 
smoke-stack of the engine of their train 
on which the members were to leave. 
A special car, also decorated, had been 
provided for them. When the signal 
to start was given and the train slowly 
began to move, the village church choir 



278] 



THE REUNION 



of 1861 began singing the national hymn 
and the throng of people joined at once 
in the grand old song, while their friends 
on the train, remembering the parting 
of years ago, stood at the windows of 
the car, waving their handkerchiefs, and 
mourning for their dead comrades of 
bygone days. 



[279 



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